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Pinecrest at New Hanover Saturday, November 15th, 2003 Legion Stadium, Wilmington, NC |
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Pinecrest at New Hanover Saturday, November 15th, 2003 Legion Stadium, Wilmington, NC |
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| The bid by the Pinecrest boys’ soccer team to advance to the semifinals of the state 4-A playoffs ended in a 2-1 loss to New Hanover Saturday night. Trailing 2-0 at Legion Stadium in Wilmington with three minutes remaining in the match, a goal by the Patriots’ Erik Hayworth fueled a gallant comeback attempt that fell just short. As a result of Saturday’s other quarterfinal matches, tonight’s final four has Athens Drive playing at New Hanover and Charlotte Myers Park traveling to Greensboro Page. The final is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. at SAS Soccer Park in Cary. In spite of the distance of 140 miles between the schools, the two teams have been seeing a lot of each other lately. The Wildcats knocked the Patriots out of the playoffs in the third round last year by the same 2-1 score. They won an early-season match this year, taking a quick 3-0 lead in a match that ended 3-1. “We knew from the first game (this year) that they learned at the half they couldn’t run with us,” said New Hanover coach Chip Stone after the game. “They had to pretty much hit us and knock us around and stuff like that to try to knock us off our game. I don’t think technically they are anywhere near as good as us. But the fact is they learned and it was a terrific team effort by Pinecrest. They played to their strength tonight, which is their size and their experience.” Before a crowd of Patriot students and other supporters that matched the size of the home turnout, and exceeded it in noise volume, the Wildcat speed was kept in check until the 36th minute. Then the home team’s Johan Icard received a ball in transition just past midfield on the left. Patriot defender Miles Caleb slipped as the Wildcat captain made his move. Icard raced down the side and served a ball across the penalty area to forward Cody Arnoux. Defender Casey Wylie held his ground, but Arnoux was still able to sneak a left-footed shot on the ground inside the near post past the dive of Patriot goalkeeper Jon Shute. It was the sophomore’s 38th goal of the season. “They got a goal that was an earned goal,” Pinecrest coach Larry Martin said. “It’s one of those things that can happen when guys are running up and down the field. Our guys were disappointed, but there was no slowing down on the part of our guys. If anything, we gained as the game went on. They wanted to get the result they were seeking and they kept fighting for it.” After being outshot 7-1 in the first half, the Patriots had an 8-3 edge in that department in the second half. Patriot forward Scott Martin said that the 2-1 comeback victory over Wilmington Hoggard in the previous round encouraged the team going into the second half. “I think we were angry with ourselves about being scored upon with four minutes left in the half,” he said. “We trailed 1-0 at the half against Hoggard and we came back then.” Midway through the second half, a cross by Jon Gribben for a shot by Dustin Burns became Wildcat goalkeeper Sean Nguyen’s first save of the match. Over the next six minutes, five yellow cards were handed out. At the 65-minute mark, Arnoux received a yellow followed by a quick red when he protested. But the next big call by the officials went against the Patriots. Wildcat McGregor Holmes went down in the Patriot penalty area and a penalty kick was awarded. Jason Ward converted, making it 2-0. With coach Martin sending more people into the attack, sophomore defender Michael White led a frantic effort to get his team back into the game. Gribben, Mario Stratta and Mike Hinerth got off shots before White was fouled about 45 yards from the goal near the right sideline. White sent a direct kick on the ground that found its way through traffic to pushed-up sweeper Erik Hayworth in front of the goal. The senior sent it into the net, making it 2-1. Most of the remaining three minutes were spent in the Wildcat half, but the home team held them off. “I wanted it for all the seniors,” said White, who next year will be the only returnee with as much as two years of varsity experience as 14 seniors move on. “I loved playing with all of them, especially coach Martin. We just gave it all we had.” “We knew we had to go hard because this (New Hanover) is a real competitive team,” Burns, one of the seniors, said. “We showed a lot of heart. It was a good year. This was the best group I ever played with. I’m proud of them.” More evident than any technical superiority was the instantaneous conversion Wildcat attackers made from offense to defense to create opportunities in the Patriot end. “You should see our practices,” said Stone, whose team advances after losing the last three years to Hoggard in the quarterfinals. “They’re wars because we emphasize that very thing.” Patriot senior midfielder Neil Perez missed the final game because of an ankle injury suffered in the second-round win over Pine Forest. Senior defender Will Carpenter left the match in the 43rd minute with a knee injury and did not return. Other seniors putting on the Patriot uniform for the last time, and not previously mentioned, were Ivan Andrade, Andrew Boulton, Gabe Bruno, David Jannone and second-half goalkeeper Rashad Gatling. Also seeing action in the contest were junior Joe Johnson and sophomore Travis Grasso. Arnoux, who scored four times in his teams’ 6-2 victory over Terry Sanford in the previous game, was able to get off only one other shot. The Mid-Southeastern Conference champions finished the season at 18-6-2. New Hanover of the Mideastern Conference takes a 20-5 record into tonight’s semifinal match. Martin called the response of the 200 Patriot fans in attendance overwhelming. At the end, an emotional group of Patriot players went across the field and thanked them. “We’ve always had a loyal following in soccer,” he said. “We don’t get any points for it, but it sure helped our guys. We appreciate it.” <-Previous 11-12-03 vs Hoggard (Third Round, State Tourn. W, 2-1) |