 |
Pinecrest vs Hoke County Monday, September 20th, 2004 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
 |
||||
|
(2-0-1) |
4
|
0 |
(1-2-0) |
|||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
|
Pinecrest vs Hoke County Monday, September 20th, 2004 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
|
||||
|
(2-0-1) |
4
|
0 |
(1-2-0) |
|||
|
||||||
|
||||||
| There were no surprises in Pinecrest’s 4-0 Mid-Southeastern Conference win over Hoke on Monday night, but there was a difference. In a series that has seen the Patriots batter the Bucks season after season, this latest installment displayed some serious soccer, an indicator that the level of competition in the conference is improving. While the outcome of the match was never in doubt, Hoke put a squad on the field that was possibly their best ever, matching up well defensively with Pinecrest and able to create some action offensively. “It was nice to enjoy a game with Hoke,” Pinecrest coach Larry Martin said. Pinecrest controlled the pace from the outset, but did not put numbers on the scoreboard until late in the first period. With 13 minutes showing on the clock, Travis Grasso crossed to Scott Phifer from the left corner. Phifer’s shot fanned the paint on the post as it went wide left. Two minutes later, Grasso and Phifer ran a replay of the same move with the same result. Finally, in the 35th minute, the Patriots broke the ice when Tommy Ransdell slipped in near the right post and headed another Grasso-Phifer exchange in for the goal. That goal primed the pump for the next one when Logan Creque took Ransdell’s pass from the right side and burned the net from 20 yards away as the clock ran out. Pinecrest picked up the pace in the second period, while easing into a flow that allowed Martin to rotate his bench freely and spread the attack. Hoke goalkeeper Zachary Crawford earned his supper in the second period, repelling a multitude of threats from the Patriot offense. One two-minute stretch brought on a rapid-fire triple threat, first from Ransdell at close range, followed by a bullet from Joe Johnson at the 18 and capped by Phifer’s attempt from a dozen yards out. But persistence pays, as Marco Gironda showed when he connected in traffic in front of the box with assistance from Creque, pushing Pinecrest’s lead to 3-0, 10 minutes into the half. Finally, with the clock showing seven minutes, Gironda delivered Daniel Johnson’s cross from deep in the right corner to register a deuce and put the Pats ahead 4-0. Pinecrest advances to 4-1-2 overall and 2-0-1 in the league. Hoke stands at 4-6-0 and 1-2-0. The Patriots travel to Jack Britt tonight for a match with strong conference title implications. Junior Varsity Action The Pinecrest junior varsity squad continued its unbeaten streak with a 7-1 romp over Hoke, pushing its record to 7-0. Brandon Zoellner and Russell Stewart scored in the first half for the Patriots, while Robert Purcell got Hoke on the board, leaving things close at the break with a 2-1 score. Pinecrest spread the wealth in the final period with goals from Karl Ainslie, Michael Hieronymus, Silas Cole, Coby Kavanaugh and Stewart for the final 7-1 margin. <-Previous 9-15-04 at Richmond County (T, 2-2) 9-22-04 at Jack Britt (L, 1-2) Next-> |