Dexter and Chelsea opened the 2019 soccer season on Tuesday but had to wait 24 hours to produce a final score. Lightning in the area caused Tuesday’s game to first be delayed and eventually called as radar showed potential storms lurking in the area.
The two rivals picked up things on Wednesday and played to a 1-1 draw.
The game was tied at halftime but the Bulldogs got on the board early in the second half on a nice goal scored off a counter attack. Chelsea had a chance to take a 2-0 lead but a penalty kick sailed over the crossbar to keep the Dreadnaughts within striking distance.
And strike they did.
Hayden Newton, Dexter’s All-State player from a year ago, scored on a penalty kick to tie the game at 1-1. The senior rifled a shot in the top right corner.
“He’s going to take our penalty kicks this year and he hit a perfect shot that their goalie had no chance at,” said Dexter Coach Jaimie Lewis.
Both teams had some opportunities later in the second half.
“Our goalie, Wiley Smith, made a couple of big saves to keep it tied,” Lewis said. “They took a great shot from 40 yards out that he was able to tip over the bar. The shots weren’t from close range but he had to make some big saves for us.”
The Dreads also had some chances but failed to finish.
“I thought the first half was fairly even but we made some changes at halftime and played much better in the second half,” Lewis said. “We had possession a lot more than they did in the second half and played most it in their half of the field but they had some nice counter attacks on us.”
Dexter plays at 5:30 p.m. on Friday against visiting Bedford before heading to a tournament on Saturday in Saginaw.
