 |
Pinecrest vs #8 Hoggard Friday, August 16th, 2002 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
 |
||||
|
|
1
|
1 |
|
|||
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
|
Pinecrest vs #8 Hoggard Friday, August 16th, 2002 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
|
||||
|
|
1
|
1 |
|
|||
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
| The players exchanged handshakes somberly following the 1-1 tie between the Pinecrest and Wilmington Hoggard boys’ soccer teams at John Williams Field Friday night. The two coaches still had their game faces on too, but took some solace in the draw because of the good early-season form displayed by their teams. Junior Gabe Bruno connected on a header off a cross from senior Joe Burger for the Patriot goal in the 25th minute. Kerby Teller of the Vikings knotted things at 1-1 with a penalty kick in the 33rd minute. For the remainder of the storm-delayed match, the teams fought vainly, too fiercely at times, trying to break the deadlock. “Considering what the weather could have been, it was a great night to play,” said John Teller, coach of the eighth-ranked (NCSCA preseason poll) Vikings. “I thought it was a good start for both teams. You would always like a “W,” but you hate to lose — so sometimes you kiss your sister and take a tie.” After observing Pinecrest in warm-ups, he said that he concluded Bruno was a player his defenders would have to keep an eye on. “Number 12 on the outside is fairly quick and we tried to make sure he didn’t get behind us,” the coach said. “Just in warming up, he looked like he was going to be the one to push the play.” Following some penetration into the Hoggard third by Patriot midfielder Mario Stratta, Burger sent a ball across the goalmouth from near the right end line. Viking goalkeeper Jason LaVecchia had the near-post and middle covered as Bruno measured it for the header. But instead of trying to power the ball through the keeper, Bruno gently lofted it out of his reach just inside the far post. The second to last of 14 whistles blown on the foul-prone Patriots in the first half proved costly. Carrying the ball into the Patriot penalty area, Brandon Dearie appeared to initiate contact with a defender and dove forward, drawing a penalty kick from the referee. Teller converted with a kick that goalkeeper Rashad Gatling got a hand on, but could not keep out of the net. Pinecrest’s second half goalkeeper Jonathan Shute was involved in some of the decisive plays of the second half as the Vikings repeatedly tried to go over the top. “They were very fast up front and the play I was afraid of was the ball coming from midfield,” Pinecrest coach Larry Martin said. “They get a flick, and they’re off to the races.” One came in the 53rd minute when Shute burst off his line to retrieve a long ball Dearie was running on to. He collided with the Viking’s leading scorer of a year ago at the edge of the penalty area. The resulting direct kick on the ground by Michael Harmon bounced off Shute’s chest, but he covered it. Dearie suffered a knee injury and was unable to return to the game. The Patriots’ best second-half chance came in the 57th minute on another header by Bruno that was high. Sweeper Matt Capasso and fellow defenders Doug Andrews, Eric Hayworth, Jonathan Gribben, Will Carpenter and Gatling helped keep the Vikings out of the goal. “They’ve got some good players and it was fun playing them, actually,” Capasso said. “Even though they got a penalty kick, we played our best, and as the season goes on, we’ll get better.” It was the opening game for the Mideastern 4A Conference Vikings who outshot the Patriots 16-9. Because it was a non-conference match, the teams did not play overtime. The game was the second of six non-conference games in a row against quality competition the Patriots face to start the season. They defeated Pine Forest 3-0 last Wednesday. Tonight they play at Cary in a 7 p.m. contest (junior varsity at 5 p.m.). In their previous meeting, Pinecrest defeated Hoggard in a penalty-kick shootout in the semifinals of the 2000 Fayetteville Academy Tournament. Burger was the Patriot goalkeeper in that game. “It’s a good rivalry we’ve got going,” Teller said. “We’re going to try to play them next year,” said Martin. “They’ve got a good program and if we can play them, that will help us. It helped us tonight. I think they’re a good team. It’s yet to be proven for them, and it’s yet to be proven for us.” The Pinecrest junior varsity defeated Hoggard 3-1 in a game shortened due to the storm delay. Scott Phifer, Travis Grasso and Joe Johnson scored the Patriot goals. Grasso also had an assist. Dalon White was in the goal for the victors. <-Previous 8-14-02 vs. #7 Pine Forest (W, 3-0) 8-19-02 at Cary (L, 0-2) Next-> |