Barnwell bests Silver Bluff, 3-1

PETTICOAT JUNCTION, S.C. - Coming off a five-goal win against the No. 10 team in Class AA last week, Barnwell soccer coach Arvie Bennett expects the Warhorses to play like an upper-echelon squad.

In the past two games - including Barnwell's 3-1 win against Silver Bluff on Monday - he's been disappointed.

"We've been playing real sloppy," Bennett said. "We're not doing the things we're supposed to be doing. We're not making runs, and we're being lazy on defense. We're backing away from the ball."

The Warhorses, though, had enough to get by a game Bulldog squad.

Led by Seth Fields, who scored a pair of goals in a span of 40 seconds, Barnwell improved its record to 8-2 and maintained its dominance and its undefeated record (4-0) in Region 5-AA.

That did little to lighten Bennett's mood.

"After we beat Wade Hampton (6-1 last week), that was supposed to have been a confidence-booster," Bennett said. "But, it hasn't worked. Since then, we've played pretty sloppy."

Still, the Warhorses performed well in spurts.

Fields followed a rebound to stick a goal past Silver Bluff (2-2, 2-2 Region 5-AA) keeper George Cloud 24 minutes into the first half, and less than a minute later, he got by a Bulldog defender to beat Cloud again.

"I couldn't have done it without my other striker," Fields said. "We just work on those drills in practice, and we did what we were taught. We put it to good use."

Also impressive was the play of Barnwell keeper Kevin Crews.

Although he couldn't corral a Kyle Williamson shot in the second half, which allowed Tee Paschale to score Silver Bluff's only goal, Crews played well, making four saves and stuffing Williamson - the Bulldogs' leading scorer - at least twice.

"We haven't played to our full potential yet," Fields said. "But we're working our way up."

As are the Bulldogs.

Despite playing with an inexperienced team, coach Steve Smith, when asked to assess his team's performance, replied with a smile.

"With it being a rival team, we're a little disappointed we lost," he said. "But for a lot of our players, it's their first year playing. We actually played a pretty good game today."

Reach Josh Katzowitz at (706) 823-3216 or josh.katzowitz@augustachronicle.com.