Game 1 Pinecrest vs South View Wendesday, August 24th, 2005 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC
(1-0-0)	1		0	(1-1-0)
Goals: Marco Gironda (PC) Assists: Tommy Ransdell (PC) Pinecrest          0    1  -  1 South View       0    0  -  0
GIRONDA LEADS PATS IN OPENER By Charlie Bergmann: Staff Writer, The Pilot, Appeared Friday, August 26th, 2005

The Pinecrest boys’ soccer team came to life early in the second half and defeated South View 1-0 at home in its season opener.      Marco Gironda scored the game’s lone goal off an assist from Tommy Ransdell in about the 55th minute. Patriot goalkeeper Glen Holmes helped turn away some late threats from the Tigers (1-1) to gain credit for the shutout.      “We had a momentum shift and we were really taking over, I thought,” Patriot coach Larry Martin said, referring to the second-half surge. “I think we created a lot of that by working hard and winning the ball in advantageous places we could actually exploit.”      A case in point was the sequence leading up to the goal. Ransdell stepped in front of a careless Tiger pass about 30 yards in front of the visitor’s net and quickly fed the ball to the attacking Gironda. The senior forward was under defensive pressure inside the penalty area when he made a quick turn and deposited the ball into the net.      “It was just being heads up,” Ransdell said. “Their team wasn’t really paying attention, and I guess they didn’t see me. I just stepped in front and Marco made a good run.”      About five minutes later, Ransdell won a ball near midfield, then delivered a quick ball over the top to Gironda again, but goalkeeper Aaron Webb made the one-on-one save. Gironda, Travis Grasso and Russell Stewart all put Webb to the test again as the Patriots out-shot the Tigers 10-1 in the second half.      Shortly before the goal by Gironda, Holmes found himself all alone with the Tigers’ dangerous Robert Henson at the edge of the Patriot penalty area. Just as Henson loaded up for the shot, Holmes was able to go low and poke the ball away with his glove.      During the last five minutes of the match, Henson and Phillip Clause challenged Holmes and the Patriot defenders inside the penalty area several times.      “Glen is going to be solid for us,” Martin said. “He’s always played with aggressiveness, but now he’s making good decisions.”      The next match for the Patriots is on Tuesday at home against Fayetteville Academy. They travel to Wilmington Hoggard on Thursday.      The Patriot junior varsity also opened its season with a 1-0 victory over South View. Season:   Goals Scored: 1    Goals Allowed: 0     Overall Record: 1-0-0    Conference Record: 0-0-0 8-30-05 at #5 Fayetteville Academy (L, 1-2) Next>>