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Pinecrest at Scotland County Monday, September 12th, 2005 Pate Stadium, Laurinburg, NC |
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(1-0-0) |
9
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2 |
(0-1-0) |
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Pinecrest at Scotland County Monday, September 12th, 2005 Pate Stadium, Laurinburg, NC |
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(1-0-0) |
9
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2 |
(0-1-0) |
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| Pinecrest dropped a cluster bomb on Scotland County in a 9-2 blitz that blistered the Scots for six goals in the first half of Monday’s Mid-Southeastern Conference soccer clash in Laurinburg. The win gave the Patriots a strong start on the conference schedule and boosted their overall mark to 3-3. Senior forward Marco Gironda gave the Pats an early lead, taking Tommy Ransdell’s cross from deep in the right corner and punching the shot in from 10 yards out before 10 minutes had elapsed. Two minutes later, Gironda got the first touch on a loose ball coughed up by the Scotland keeper and passed to junior midfielder Russell Stewart, who delivered the goods to put Pinecrest on top 2-0. Pinecrest launched a four-minute flurry midway through the first period that produced three goals and effectively put the match out of reach for the outmanned Scots. Senior midfielder Travis Grasso led off, taking a short pass from G. R. Horton and dancing around a pair of Scotland defenders to bang in the score off the left side from a dozen yards out. Michael White muscled his way in unassisted from the midfield moments later to add another point to the Patriot tally. White set the stage for the next goal when he telescoped a touch on a free kick, tipping the ball into the left corner as senior midfielder Daniel Johnson closed in from the side to pull the trigger for the score. Junior forward Matt Sessoms capped the period and grabbed the first piece of a hat trick when he rebounded Jordan Howlett’s shot off the crossbar and redirected it into the net. The other two pieces of Sessom’s hat trick provided the Patriots the bulk of their firepower in the second half. Sessoms opened the period when he picked the pocket of a Scotland defender and made the short solo run to the goal. A midfield feed from Coby Kavanaugh found Sessoms with an open lane to the goal to complete the hat trick. Sandwiched between Sessoms’ shots, Gironda connected in traffic to relay a header from Glen Holmes for another Patriot point. Holmes shed his keeper’s jersey for a stretch during the second period as Pinecrest took advantage of its lead to rotate players into different positions. “We started the game in a good frame of mind,” said Pinecrest coach Larry Martin. “We were focused and took care of the game very efficiently in the first half. In the second half, we gained experience and got to see our guys work some different positions. I’m looking forward to seeing Scotland again on our field.” Scotland’s first scoring opportunity did not come until the second period on a penalty kick that hit the cross bar. The Scots got on the board a minute after the missed penalty kick with an unassisted goal by Justin Walters. After chasing the Patriots for most of the match, Adam Wright connected for Scotland in the waning minutes of play to reduce the final margin to 9-2. The Pinecrest junior varsity squad blanked Scotland 3-0 in the preliminary match. David Adams, Aaron Sprinkle and Tyler Dawson recorded goals for Pinecrest. Conference action continues tonight when Pinecrest hosts Richmond Senior High. The jayvee match gets under way at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity contest at 7 p.m. <-Previous 9-9-05 vs Middle Creek (W, 4-2) 9-14-05 vs Richmond County (W, 10-1) Next-> |