How high-scoring Christian Melton demonstrates importance for injured USJ soccer team

LEXINGTON – Christian Melton sees a text before every game. It's from his dad.

It puts the USJ senior forward in an aggressive mindset before any game he plays. The text is a list of goals Melton has for the day’s game.

The text message for last Thursday was wanting Melton to record three goals and two assists against Lexington. He responded with saying he wanted to score four goals. It’s not a far-fetched statline, Melton has 10 goals on the season in nine games, including a five-goal game earlier this season.

“I’ve scored almost every game (I’ve played),” Melton said. “I hold that expectation to score every game.”

However, Melton wasn’t able to hit those goals this time. He exited the game midway through the first half after suffering a hamstring injury. Melton was walking gingerly and hopes to be back on the field by Tuesday at Sacred Heart.

The foul in which Melton was injured drew a penalty kick and Ryan Hutchison scored the kick.

Lexington scored in the second half for a 1-1 draw at Nathan Gagle Field .

Melton’s competitive drive was hurting him when the Tigers scored the goal on a 30-yard free kick that sailed over the Bruins’ goalkeeper and into the net.

“As soon as they scored, I was asking coach to put me back in,” Melton said. “Just watching it happen (hurts). You can’t do anything about it. Anytime we get scored on, I always grab the ball and go do something about it. I couldn’t do that. It sucked just sitting there watching it happen.”

The Bruins (3-4-2) have been dealing with injuries throughout the early part of the season, including several defenders and multiple midfielders. Coach Paul Conway has been adjusting his lineup to put guys in positions they may not be accustomed to.

Melton is an example. He is normally at the front of the formation, colloquially known as a striker, but he’s been playing more as the center in a line of three forwards. Being able to score from that position requires even more effort and skill.

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“It’s the hardest thing to do is put the ball in the net,” Conway said. “Christian has an eye for the goal. He’s very single-minded when he’s in the attacking area — he has a nose for the goal and he wants to go to goal. He wants the responsibility of it, too.”

USJ was missing Melton’s athleticism and strength on the field on Thursday, he was still trying to help his teammates from the sideline but missing his prowess on the field was felt, both physically and mentally.

“He often doesn’t realize how important that is,” Conway said. “Our players do feed off his energy. If he’s down on himself, our players can tend to see that and maybe not play as aggressive. … When he’s positive and aggressive, that’s a contagious energy. Our players missed it.”

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: How high-scoring Christian Melton demonstrates importance for injured USJ soccer team