On September 18th, 2024, the Wilson Warriors faced off against the Lehighton Indians in soccer on Wilson’s home turf. Coming into the game, the Warriors knew that this was a must-win game against a difficult opponent if they wanted to keep their postseason hopes alive. Coach Tunney and his Warriors did just that as they dominated Lehighton to win the game and advance to 7-5 on the season advancing them to fifth place in the Colonial League.
Wilson struggled early in the game allowing senior Jacib Anthony to score a goal within the first ten minutes. Wilson responded with a quick goal by sophomore Dillard Jones just minutes later. Lehighton would never regain momentum as the Warriors’ defense, led by seniors Jamal Green and Chris Parada, shut down any offensive attacks for the next 70 minutes.
Wilson tacked on a second goal before halftime as senior Isaiah Singleton scored a header on a corner kick. It became evident that Wilson’s head coach, Sean Tunney, wanted more out of his team. He led an intense halftime speech that undoubtedly motivated his players as they came into the second half with a full head of steam.
Ten minutes into the second half, sophomore Dillard Jones scored his second goal of the game on a breakaway adding to his total of five goals this season. Jones said after the game, “We changed our formation at halftime to a 4-4-2 to really open up the field for us.” This adjustment made by Wilson’s coaching staff worked with great success in the second half for the Warriors.
Adding to the strong performance, junior Gigi Durandisse scored Wilson’s fourth goal of the game with around ten minutes left to extend their lead to three. Wilson’s Isaiah Singleton put the nail in the coffin as he scored his second goal of the game with ease to put away Lehighton and took the win in front of a satisfied home crowd.
Wilson hopes to use this game as momentum for Saturday’s game against a very strong Moravian Academy team. Moravian is coming off a dominant five-game winning streak in which they outscored their opponents 31-4. Moravian is the clear favorite but after this performance by the Warriors, the game could still be a toss-up. Senior Isaiah Singleton said,“I think we have a good chance at winning districts.” Despite Wilson only being 7-5, could they be an underdog to win the district title this year?
