Photo and article from Laieke Abebe

Coming off a dominant conference championship performance against North Johnston, Spring Creek kept its momentum going in the opening round of the NCHSAA 2A playoffs.

The seventh-seeded Gators knocked off visiting Bunn, 6-1 on Monday in Seven Springs. The Gators improved to 15-2-1 on the season by dominating possession and being clinical in front of goal.

“We had a superb performance,” Spring Creek head coach Miguel Torres said. “It was a team effort and we controlled the game for a complete 80 minutes. This is the type of soccer we need to play going forward.”

Spring Creek created numerous chances early, but couldn’t find the back of the net in the first 20 minutes. However, their breakthrough finally came in the form of their leading scorer on the season, Alex Morales.

The junior forward scored a pair of goals within a three-minute span to put the home team up, 2-0. He also added a pair of assists to bring his season totals to 27 and eight which both lead the team. 

Morales’ first assist went to Jossue Hernandez who fired a volley into the net to add to their lead. After a bad pass led to the Wildcats’ only goal of the night, Fernando Trejo converted a penalty to make it 4-1 at halftime.

Bryan Sanchez would have a goal and assist in the second half and Hernandez would add a second goal for the final margin of victory. The Gators will host East Carteret Thursday after the Mariners upset Farmville Central in their first-round playoff game.

“I can’t say enough about our fans and the community,” Torres said. “They give us a true home-field advantage and that motivates us to play well. We’re thankful to have another home game, but we have to take care of business and be ready to face another good team.