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Pinecrest vs Scotland County Monday, September 13th, 2004 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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Pinecrest vs Scotland County Monday, September 13th, 2004 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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(1-0-0) |
4
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0 |
(0-1-0) |
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| The Pinecrest boys’ soccer team used the header for three of its four goals on the way to a 4-0 Mid-Southeastern Conference victory over Scotland County Monday night at home. Against a hunkered down young Scot defense, Marco Gironda broke into the goal-scoring column as a varsity player with a hat trick, as all of the Patriot goals were scored in the first half. Michael White scored the other goal and also contributed an assist. The match was the conference opener for both teams. Pre-game strategies don’t always materialize, but, according to Gironda, in this case they did. “We were talking before the game about getting more crosses,” the junior said, ”because this team was supposed to have a pretty good defensive wall. That’s how I got two of my goals. We practiced some headers before the game today and it paid off.” In fact, it took the Patriots less than a minute of game action to find the net. Seconds after his vicious shot was deflected over the endline, White headed home the ensuing corner kick by Joe Johnson. About 10 minutes later, Gironda received a pass from White and found the left corner of the net with his right foot making it 2-0. “It boosts you a lot,” said Gironda on getting the first one. “I was really pumped up — ready to play — feeling good.” In the 29th minute, the Patriots’ Jordan Hansley won a ball near the right-corner flag and served the ball over the head of the Scot goalkeeper to a waiting Gironda, who headed it inside the far post. With under a minute left in the half, senior Logan Creque lofted another ball from the right that Gironda again deposited into the net with a header to complete the scoring. The Patriots took 20 of their 33 shots in the match in the second half, but couldn’t find the net. Patriot coach Larry Martin said that it was difficult attacking against a Scot team that never deviated from its defensive posture even after falling way behind. His team varied its approach, mixing in some over-the-top action with the switching of fields and crosses. “It’s tough when you know they’re going to get in front of the goal,” he said. “You try to draw them out by playing the ball back. The other thing I told them was that we can create some goals by winning the ball and then jamming it in transition because that doesn’t give them a chance to settle in.” Scotland took just four shots in the match with Patriot goalkeepers Travis Frazier and Marshall McIntosh recording one save each. Three Scot goalkeepers combined for 10 saves. It was the first match for the Patriots in 11 days. “You try to get something out of it,” Martin said referring to the lopsided win. “I thought that under the circumstances, it was a productive night. I think we learned a little bit more about ourselves. Hopefully we can apply it as the week goes on.” Tonight the Patriots, now 3-1-1 overall, travel to Richmond County for a 7 p.m. contest (junior varsity at 5:30 p.m.). The Raiders (4-1) defeated Westover 3-0 Monday in their conference opener. The Patriots entertain Two Rivers Conference power Terry Sanford at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Patriot junior varsity improved to 5-0 with a 7-0 victory over the Scots in Monday night’s preliminary match. Tyler Dawson, Jim Hobbs, Jordan Howlett, Russell Stewart, Chase Blake, Ben Gartman and Coby Kavanaugh scored the goals. They have outscored their opponents 31-3 so far this season. <-Previous 9-2-04 at Lumberton (L 1-2) 9-15-04 at Richmond County (T, 2-2) Next-> |