North Lenoir’s Taiwan Hines scored five goals in the Hawks’ 8-3 victory over Ayden-Grifton Monday. Photo by Laieke Abebe / Neuse News

AYDEN — Taiwan Hines continued his torrid goal-scoring pace on Monday.

The North Lenoir senior forward scored five goals in their 8-3 road win over Ayden-Grifton. Hines leads the Hawks (6-3-1, 3-1 ECC) with 15 goals and 11 assists in his team’s first 10 games.

“Last year, we slipped up against this team,” Hawks head coach Chris Evans said. “We had to play more possession soccer tonight and we did a good job with that for the most part. We’ve been working on that in practice and I think we got a lot more shots on goal. Our guys responded well and we didn’t come out flat.”

Hines has been the most consistent scorer for a Hawks squad that moved into a tie for second in the conference with their win on Monday. He primarily plays as a striker, but Evans has played him in different positions throughout the season. 

“I didn’t feel any pressure,” Hines said about his performance. “I’ve been playing a lot more in the midfield and I’ve been trying to assist my teammates. Today’s game helped us come together as a group and we all contributed to this win.”

Jose Sanchez, Michael Moore and Luis Cordova added goals for the Hawks, who led 3-1 at halftime. Cordova also had two assists while Hines, Moore, and Luis Henriquez added one apiece.

“We’ve been working on our passing and I think we did well,” Sanchez said. “It was also great to get a goal in this game. There was an open space at the top of the box and I had to tap it in.”

Despite the score, Ayden-Grifton coach Jeff Stelly said the Chargers have improved throughout the season as they’ve picked up conference wins over West Craven and South Lenoir in the last two weeks. 

Senior forward Alex Hernandez scored a hat trick of his own against the Hawks. He leads the Chargers (2-7-2, 2-2) with 17 goals in 11 games and has played multiple positions for his team. 

“We’re getting some chemistry,” Stelly said. “Our seniors are encouraging the young players to raise their game and they’ve done that. I think we can be better as the season goes on and I’m really encouraged with where we’re at.”

Ayden-Grifton and North Lenoir are both back in action on Wednesday. The Chargers travels to Greene Central while North Lenoir will head on the road to face Kinston.