Royals tame Lions 4-2 in home opener

The Delmarva Christian boys’ soccer team engaged in a tough battle with Red Lion Christian in its home opener. In the end, the Royals were able to tame the Lions and secure a 4-2 victory.

“We’re creating a lot of great opportunities, and the finishing is going to come as we continue to practice or work on those things. But as far as creating the chances [and] playing our style, I think they’re doing a fabulous job,” Royals coach Dan Walton said.

Freshman Jay Parrish opened the scoring with an acrobatic aerial kick from about 10 yards away at 16 minutes. The Lions responded a few minutes later by converting on a free kick to tie the game. Unfazed by the equalizer, the Royals continued to press on the wing and collapse into the box. Parrish scored his second goal to give the Royals a 2-1 lead on an athletic header.

Delmarva Christian tallied another goal when a loose ball found the foot of sophomore Seth Mifflin, who fired an inside footer into the twine. The Royals took a 3-2 lead into halftime.

“It did get frustrating creating so many chances and not being able to put them into the back of the net. I do feel like if we worked on it more, we would be able to beat a lot of teams with a lot more goals,” said Royals captain Isaiah Walton.

Royals junior Mauricio Chavez hustled into the box late in the second half and knocked in a rebound for the fourth and final goal of the contest. 

“When we put our crosses in, we need to get more players into the box to get more feet in the area to get it into the back of the net,” Isaiah said.

Walton was pleased with the team's effort and how it was able to rise above the physical play and focus on playing soccer. He thinks the team will continue to progress.

“The approach is to keep playing the same style; just drill areas where we’re falling short. Finishing is a big part of that. We want to keep playing our game and growing in our style,” Walton said.