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Pinecrest vs Pine Forest Saturday, November 8th, 2003 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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Pinecrest vs Pine Forest Saturday, November 8th, 2003 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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| The Pinecrest boys' soccer team put on a good offensive show in Saturday night's second round 4-A state playoff match against Pine Forest at John Williams Field. David Jannone and Gabe Bruno each scored a pair of goals and defender Will Carpenter was credited with three assists to lead the Patriots (17-5-2) to a 7-0 victory. The win advances the Mid-Southeastern Conference champions to a third-round contest at home tonight at 7 p.m. against Wilmington Hoggard. But Pinecrest coach Larry Martin said that most of the talk before the game was about defense. The Trojan squad included the region's leading goal scorer in sophomore Alex Hinestrosa, who notched numbers 49 and 50 in his team's first round victory over Seventy-First. Goalkeepers Jonathan Shute and Rashad Gatling and the rest of the defensive cast of the Patriots combined for the team's 16th shutout of the season. "We have a lot of guys capable of putting the ball in the goal," Martin said. "But at the same time, it's a two-fold thing. I stressed defense for this game. I told them I want you getting back and winning the ball back when we lose it, and that way we can create opportunities on offense. The way they were man marking us, you can spring quick in transition, and I thought we got a couple of goals like that." While defenders Michael White and Carpenter were taking turns limiting the touches of Hinestrosa to the point that he got off only one shot in the match, the Patriots were producing plenty of opportunities for themselves in the Trojan end. Miday through the first half, midfielder Neil Perez was brought down by a Trojan defender just outside the penalty area. The senior's free kick toward the far post was tipped away on a brilliant save by goalkeeper Jonathan McRae. But off of the ensuing corner kick by Dustin Burns, teammate Jon Gribben volleyed a shot toward the far post. Erik Hayworth, playing up from his sweeper position, got just enough foot on the ball to deflect it off a defender and out of reach of the helpless McRae for the 1-0 lead. Moments later, White found himself near the right end line at the edge of his own penalty area facing Hinestrosa, his teammate on the Fayetteville Force. While the dangerous striker made his feints, White waited patiently and then dispossessed him and kicked the ball away. "I looked forward to playing him," White said. "It was fun, but I was definatley nervous. I was just thinking don't stab, let him make the first move, and then just basically kick it upfield." Aided by the long punts of McRae that went all the way back to the Patriot defensive third of the field, the Trojans kept it close until the final few minutes of the half when they were burned twice in transition. With just under four minutes left, Bruno found Gribben open in the penalty box with a cross. McRae batted his shot down, but Jannone was there to finish it. Two minutes later, the scoring sequence began with a ball switched to Carpenter near midfield. He launched about a 40-yard ball that Burns controlled on the fly to the penalty area and blased it into the net. Hinestrosa's only shot came in the 56th minute and was easily grabbed by Gatling. The Trojans' best chances to score came on a couple of long fee kicks by McRae, who was on the field as a defender in the second half. Twice Gatling had to tip shots over the goal. Bruno scored twice, Ivan Andrade once, and Jannone again off of a long ball from Carpenter in the four-goal second half. Burns and Scott Martin also had second-half assists. The Patriots took 24 shots to seven for the visitors, who finished the season with a record of 17-8-1. The three assists give Carpenter seven for the year, an impressive number for a defender. "It feels good to know we're going to the third round and that we've got a good chance to get past that this year," he said. Wednesday's meeting with Hoggard will be the fourth in the last four years against the second seed from the Mideastern Conference. The teams are 1-1-1 with the Vikings picking up a 1-0 victory over the Patriots in Wilmington on Labor Day weekend. The Vikings advanced by defeating Lumberton 1-0 Saturday. A victory by the Patriots tonight will put them in the Lower East bracket final on Saturday at the winner of tonight's game between Terry Sanford and New Hanover. <-Previous 10-29-03 at Douglas Byrd (W, 9-0) 11-12-03 vs Hoggard (Third Round, State Tourn. W 2-1) Next-> |