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Pinecrest vs Lee County Friday, August 20th, 2004 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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Pinecrest vs Lee County Friday, August 20th, 2004 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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| “This was sweet, baby”, were the first words from coach Larry Martin to his team after a pair of late goals gave Pinecrest a 2-1 home victory over Lee County in its boys’ soccer opener Friday night. Trailing 1-0 since the 16th minute of the match on a goal by the Jackets’ Ruskin Skopal, Tommy Ransdell woke up the large Patriot student gathering with the tying goal in the 73rd minute. Then with just under two minutes to play, Joe Johnson connected on a direct kick from the edge of the Jacket penalty area for the game-winner. The stunning rally capped a night that saw Martin’s inexperienced squad completely outplayed for the first 25 minutes. The win atoned for a 2-1 defeat under similar circumstances at Lee County last season. “This is a new team, a new dynamic,” Martin said in the happy aftermath. “There’s lots of stuff to discover. I wasn’t sure if I was going to discover their hearts or how long it was going to take to uncover it. But I believe this team has heart after seeing that. They didn’t quit, they kept playing and they worked together. As a coach, what can be sweeter than that?” With only five returnees from last year’s squad that went 18-6-2 and advanced deep into the state playoffs, Patriot fans could not have been too surprised by the sputtering start. The goal by Skopal capped a period of constant pressure on the Patriot goal. Things began turning the Patriots’ way after Martin moved All-Mid-Southeastern Conference defender Michael White and first-year varsity defender Dalon White to the center-midfield. “Moving Michael and Dalon up really helped,” said senior Joe Johnson, an outside midfielder. “We controlled the midfield a lot better after that and started putting the ball out wide.” The push farther up the field generated by the aggressive White helped make the Patriots dangerous offensively for the first time even the though the rewards would not come until much later. At the start of the second half, sophomore defender Casey Wylie was moved to forward to further bolster the attack. He and White were both sidelined with injuries by the time the Patriots made their move. On a night of physical play that had the officials stopping the action often, a tiring Jacket squad put itself in direct kick situations two times too many. With just over seven minutes left in the game, a Patriot defender was fouled about 35 yards from the goal resulting in the third Jacket yellow card of the half. Dalon White was denied by Jacket goalkeeper Matt West on a shot off the direct kick. But the rebound squirted away to Ransdell, who poked it in the net tying the match at 1-1. Martin played all 19 of his field players in the first half and continued substituting freely in the second. He felt that became a factor on a warm and humid evening. “We’re a group with a lot of guys that are pretty close in ability,” the coach said. “So there are a lot of guys I can turn to. And I think we are deeper than they are. Our hard work in the preseason paid off at the end of the game. “We we’re going harder at the ball in the second half from fitness than we were in the first half from butterflies and lack of confidence.” Less than two minutes were left in the match when once again a Patriot attacker was brought down hard by Jacket defender. Joe Johnson was asked what he saw as he stood over the ball facing a Jacket wall, just to the right, and 18 yards from the goal. “On the inside (of the wall), I saw a little hole,” he said. “So I tried to spin it through low, on the ground.” The shot threaded through the opening and eluded West, as the Patriot stands thundered under the stomping of the celebrating students. Johnson recalled the disappointment of last year’s loss at Lee County. “He (Martin) really wanted this game,” Johnson said,” So we stepped up and won it for him.” Helping keep the Jacket offense at bay after Michael White and Wylie were moved forward was senior Greg Pattis, who moved from outside defender on the left to sweeper. “I think the first half was kind of shaky,” he said. “In the second half, we came together as a team and did things like we do them in practice.” Chris Coxen filled the spot vacated by Pattis capably. Caleb Miles helped keep the center-midfield strong after Michael White rolled an ankle. Senior Marshall McIntosh split the goalkeeping with freshman Travis Frazier. The visitors, now 0-2, took 13 shots in the game to 10 for the Patriots. The Patriot junior varsity defeated the Jackets 4-2. Russell Stewart broke a 2-2 tie with a goal that was assisted by Westly Grannis with nine minutes left in the match. He completed a hat trick with an insurance tally in the last two minutes. Grannis, with an assist from Win Pratt, scored the other Patriot goal. The Patriots travel to Fayetteville Academy for a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday. The junior varsity match begins at 5 p.m. 8-25-04 at #4 Fayetteville Academy (T, 1-1) Next>> |