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Pinecrest vs Jack Britt Monday, October 14th, 2002 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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(10-0-1) |
3
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0 |
(7-4-0) |
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Pinecrest vs Jack Britt Monday, October 14th, 2002 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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|
(10-0-1) |
3
|
0 |
(7-4-0) |
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| A late first-half goal by senior Brad Shinn broke up a defensive struggle ands started Pinecrest on the way to a 3-0 home soccer victory over Jack Britt Monday. The win solidified the Patriots' hold on first place in the Mid-Southeastern Conference, improving their record to 10-0-1 and 14-2-2 overall. Junior goalkeepers Jonathan Shute and Rashad Gatling combined for their seventh shuout in the last nine matched. Shinn's shot from just above the penalty area arc into the upper-right corner of the net followed a poor clearance by the defense. It was one of only four shot attempts in the half against the Bucs, now 9-8 overall and 7-4 in the league. "I didn't think we did a real good job in the final third of putting things together," said Patriot coach Larry Martin of his team's first-half performance. "Very few times did we make the last couple of passes we needed to give us a good opportunity." As in the 2-0 loss at Jack Britt last month, the defensive-minded visitors devoted very little manpower to the attack and finished the game without taking a single shot. The attempt to grind out a close win worked until the 53rd minute when junior forward Scott Martin pressured a Buc defender into a bad pass deep in his own end. Teammate Joe Burger intercepted it about 25 yards from the goal, beat one defender and then goalkeeper C.C. Clawson one on one for his 21st goal of the season. A Burger cross set up the final tally in the 74th minute. Jonathan Gribben received it at the far post with no angle for a shot. His header across the goal eluded Clawson and Stephen Lacher was there for the easy tap in. With three conference games remaining, Pinecrest has outscored league foes 68-6 while extending its league unbeaten streak to 32 games. Shute and Gatling have helped make the Patriots solid in the back. As with last year's goalkeeper, Ryan Nelson, now graduated, they are both basketball players. "They both understand the position of goalkeeping," Martin said. "Both are athletics, but Rashad may be a little more athletic than Jon. Rashad is so quick, that when he makes his decision, he can make it happen. Jon does a good job of anticipating and being in the right spot at the right time. I think the fact they are involved in other sports helps them." The two have shared the games by halves all season. They didn't face any shots Monday, but each had to deal with a couple of dicey through or over the top balls. Both say they prefer relative quiet in the goal box as opposed to the alternative. "A game like this is all right because not a lot of action means we've got a good defense," Gatling said. "A good defense is a good thing to take to the state playoffs. I feel the defense is getting stronger as we go along, because we are learning to play together and talk to eachother on the field." The other half of the top four teams in the conference also played each other Monday. Scotland (8-1-2) defeated Richmond (7-3-1) 2-1 in overtime. Tonight Pinecrest travels to Westover to play the 0-11 and 0-13 Wolverines. Last Friday's game at Fayetteville Academy that was postponed because of a wet field, is scheduled to be made up on Oct. 29. In the junior varsity match, Pinecrest stayed undefeated in the conference with a 4-0 victory over Jack Britt. Andrew Tagliareni (two), Scott Phifer and Travis Grasso scored the goals. <-Previous 10-9-02 at Hoke County (W, 15-0) 10-16-02 at Westover (W, 15-0) Next-> |