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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

CHELSEA – In need of an area win on Thursday, March 16 to avoid a 0-3 start in a challenging area, the Chelsea Hornets stepped up in a big way against 280-area rival Spain Park.

The Hornets, who fell 4-1 to Oak Mountain and 2-0 to Hewitt-Trussville to start area play 0-2, found an offensive rhythm this time around, scoring two first-half goals and five in the second half to down the Jaguars 7-1.

With the win, Chelsea continued a strong stretch, bouncing back from three straight losses after a 7-0-1 start with three consecutive wins. More than that, the Hornets have now held their last three opponents to one goal or less with two shutouts in that span, while they have scored 12 in that span.

The first half of the game against Spain Park did feature its share of defense between the two, but Chelsea was sparked by a couple of big offensive plays in addition to the team’s defensive success.

The Hornets came close early in the game, but it was close to 15 minutes in when Luke Miller found Kaleb Bass who then kicked it over to Andrew Teixeira for a goal sparked by great passing to give the team a 1-0 lead.

The game got quiet from there over the next 20 minutes, but late in the half, Bass made his impact felt again.

After receiving a pass from teammate Max Weaver, he sailed a ball nearly 50 yards that suck into the left side of the net for what became a 2-0 halftime lead.

That was just the start for Chelsea, however,

Very early in the second half, the Hornets earned a free kick and Luke Miller capitalized from close to 20 yards out on a shot that bent over the defense and over the Spain Park keeper into the top right portion of the net for a quick 3-0 advantage.

Then, two minutes later, Bass hit Parker Dean for a goal that made it 4-0.

Following that exciting start to the second half, the game hit a lull for about 10 minutes, but Bass scored his second goal shortly after that break in action to make it 5-0.

Over the next 10 minutes, the two traded one goal each to make it 6-1, but Chelsea closed out the victory with a final goal from Weaver to pick up the 7-1 victory.

Bass was the leader in the win with not only two goals but three assists as well.