Zane Holliman lifts Stratford to key soccer win

Zane Holliman overcame a sluggish start to score three times as Stratford defeated Mount de Sales 4-1 in boys soccer on Thursday night.

Stratford (9-5, 5-1 GHSA Area 2-A) took control of the game late in the first half and never looked back. Custis Donner scored late for the Eagles, while Cesar Benjume scored the only goal for Mount de Sales (8-6-1, 5-2).

Mount de Sales was looking to move into first place in Area 2-A. Instead, Stratford and Pacelli (8-2-3, 4-1) are now tied in the loss column for first place in Area 2-A, with Pacelli winning the head-to-head contest 3-2 on April 6.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Holliman: The junior had two golden chances to score on breakaways early but was turned back both times by Mount de Sales keeper Ryan Murphey. Holliman had eight quality shots on goal and ended the game with a hat trick.

Jacob Lischer: The Stratford keeper turned away seven shots before giving up a late goal.

James Mitchell: The senior, who also plays baseball for the Eagles and signed a basketball scholarship this week, played all 80 minutes at defender and helped keep the Cavaliers scoreless until late.

TURNING POINT

Mount de Sales was locked in a scoreless game with Stratford for the first 26 minutes, with a superb effort from Murphey in goal. But on Holliman's fifth shot, Murphey had one of his easier stops in hand, but the ball escaped and barely rolled into the goal. After that, Holliman took off and Mount de Sales could not keep up.

OBSERVATION

Experience pays off: Mount de Sales has a very young roster, and six freshmen play extensively. Meanwhile, Stratford has 10 seniors.

ALSO THURSDAY NIGHT

Stratford posted a 2-0 girls soccer victory over Mount de Sales, with Emory Sutherland scoring both goals.

THEY SAID IT

Holliman on the tough start: "I probably had three times as many misses in this game than goals and I was starting to get frustrated, but I just had to slow down a little because I probably had more time on those shots than I thought I had. Once I got the first one to go in, I felt a lot better."

Stratford head coach Ian Hayley on his team's effort: "We can look at Mount de Sales' record, and we know they have a very good soccer team, so it was nice to go out and get a win. But if we are going to make a serious move in the state playoffs, we will have to take advantage of our scoring opportunities."

Mount de Sales head coach Iain Jones on his team's improvement this year: "We are very young, and I don't think I could ask for much more out of this team. We have freshmen that are not playing like freshmen anymore, but it's very difficult when we run into a team with Stratford's experience."

NEXT UP

Regular-season play concludes next week. Stratford hosts Brookstone on Tuesday and Cairo on Thursday, while Mount de Sales is at North Cobb Christian on Wednesday.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Zane Holliman lifts Stratford to key soccer win ."