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Pinecrest vs Lumberton Monday, August 25th, 2003 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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Pinecrest vs Lumberton Monday, August 25th, 2003 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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| The strategy employed by Lumberton was one the Pinecrest boys' soccer team sees often year-in and year-out. The opponent keeps plenty of players back on defense and looks for opportunities to score off the counterattack. Monday night at John Williams Field it worked for Lumberton as an early second-half goal by Corey Simmons was the only marker in the 1-0 Pirate victory. Patriot coach Larry Martin said that he thought his team showed the affects of Friday night's emotional and physical effort in a 1-1 draw at Terry Sanford. "I thought we were flat the whole game," he said. "We never picked it up. I think part of that was because of Friday's game. I just don't think the kids came ready to play." The home team responded with some urgency with midfielder Neil Perez getting fouled twice within a minute just beyond the circle above the penalty area, but the senior was unable to connect on the free kicks. In the 53rd minute, outside midfielder Jonathan Gribben found forward Scott Martin unattended inside the penalty box, but last year's leading returning goal scorer took too much time to act. Following several touches of the ball, the Pirate defense closed in and the senior's shot went wide of the goal. Pinecrest players frittered away some promising early chances by trying to dribble through Pirate defenders when a pass would have been the better choice. The Patriots outshot the Pirates 6-2 in the half, but neither team posed many serious threats. "They (Pinecrest) did their job possessing the ball and we pretty much sat back and relled on the counterattack," Lumberton coach Kenny Simmons said. "And it worked pretty well." In the 45th minute, the Pirates' Jon Flantos teed off from the 16-yard line, but his shot flew just wide of the goal. But on the Pirates' next trip into the Patriot end, Simmons controlled a cross at just about the same spot. The son of the Lumberton coach made a move to his right that got goalkeeper Rashad Gatling leaning in the direction of the near post. He then turned the other way and deposited the ball inside the far post with his left foot. The Patriots kept the pressure on with forward balls and balls across the goal, but Lumberton goalkeeper Tim Koltonski came off his line to win the battle in the air each time. Koltonski, a four-year starter was in the goal the last time Lumberton defeated Pinecrest in 2000 (at Lumberton) when the two teams were members of the Southwestern Conference. The Pirates and Patriots shared the regular-season title that year. The Pirates had not won at Pinecrest since 1994. The goalkeeper is a member of the Fayetteville Force club team along with several Pinecrest players. "This was our first real test," he said of his team, now 4-0 with wins over Hoke County, Fayetteville Christian and Richmond County. "Evan Musselwhite, a senior and a captain like me is an awesome sweeper and he really stepped up tonight." With the clock winding down, it was the Pirates, not the team that trailed, that produced the best scoring chances. A Lumberton goal was negated by an offside call and twice in the last 10 minutes of the match, Flantos unloaded from in close, with one shot going high and the other being grabbed by Gatling. "When you get down like that and you try to suck it up and draw on your reserves, it wasn't there for us tonight," Martin said. "The guys didn't respond." The two teams came into the game familiar with each other. They attended a camp together this summer. "It's a big win for us," Coach Simmons said. "We opened up with three easy games. Year-in and year-out, Pinecrest is in the playoffs. We're using this game as kind of a measuring stick for our program. They passed with flying colors." The Patriots took 15 shots to seven for Lumberton. The Patriots completed their season opening three-game series against the top teams of the Two Rivers Conference with a record of 1-1-1. This weekend they travel to Wilmington to play New Hanover on Friday night and Hoggard on Saturday. Both teams are listed in the second 10 of the first 4-A coaches' poll of the season. <-Previous 8-22-03 at Terry Sanford (T, 1-1) 8-29-03 at New Hanover (L 1-3) Next-> |