East Ridge continued its march through District 8-AA boys' soccer in convincing fashion Tuesday night, toppling Red Bank 7-0 at Camp Jordan. The win boosted the Pioneers' records to 11-0-2 and 3-0 in district play.
East Ridge put on a scoring clinic to lead 4-0 at halftime. The cushion was plenty for a stout defense, which tamed the Lions by limiting possession and allowing only one shot on goal.
"These guys are playing together as a team," East Ridge coach Jeremy McIntyre said. "You can see they're unselfish, laying the ball off to each other to get the best shot on goal, and they're playing aggressive. It's a district game and they came out ready."
Rijad Kazic and Adam Adem drove the offense, accounting for East Ridge's first three goals and seven shots.
Kazic slipped the ball ahead to Adem making a run in the box for a quick finish to open the scoring, and the pair continued to create dangerous chances for each other. After a few shots missed the mark, Kazic worked his way from near midfield toward the net before burying a goal in the right corner to make it 2-0.
Adem made another run and fought off Red Bank defenders to score East Ridge's third goal within the first 15 minutes of the match.
"What's great is they're both seniors, and they just feed off each other," McIntyre said. "They work together, and they're not looking to be the one who wants to score all the goals because they know next time they'll get the ball fed right back. They have their strengths in different areas, and they blend together really well. It's fun to watch."
Erik Matias closed the first-half scoring, gathering the ball off Abdallah Albobsairy's foot and taking a touch before firing it into the net.
Kazic made it 5-0 early in the second half and completed the hat trick with another goal on a powerful, low strike. Albobsairy controlled the ball at the top of the box before putting away the last goal of the night with his left foot.
Darian Smith and Pedro Bautista combined to preserve the shutout. Bautista got East Ridge's only save, diving to his right to thwart the potential scoring opportunity for Red Bank. The Pioneers' back line took care of the rest, severely limiting the Lions' offense.
"We like to press up high early and play more aggressive," McIntyre said. "That's also us respecting Red Bank. They have some good players, especially up top, so I'm proud of how we were able to stop them."
East Ridge outshot Red Bank 18-4 and wraps up regular-season play in the district against Howard on Tuesday.