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Pinecrest vs Richmond County Wednesday, September 14th, 2005 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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(2-0-0) |
10
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1 |
(1-1-0) |
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Pinecrest vs Richmond County Wednesday, September 14th, 2005 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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(2-0-0) |
10
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1 |
(1-1-0) |
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| Two games into its Mid-Southeastern Conference schedule, the Pinecrest boys’ soccer team has made a strong statement to the rest of the league. Wednesday night’s 10-1 rout over Richmond County began with a goal by the Patriots’ Matt Sessoms in the 23rd second of the match. Following the pattern of Monday’s 9-2 victory at Scotland County, the Patriots scored five times in the first 23 minutes. Sessoms and Michael White each scored twice in a first half that ended with the home team on top 6-1. The Patriots improved to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in the league, while the Raiders fell to 3-4 and 1-1. “That’s something in past years we really haven’t done,” White said of the explosive start against conference opponents. “Monday and today we really got on top early and it took their confidence away. We haven’t been messing around this year — we’ve been getting it done. Hopefully, we’ll continue to do that.” Last season’s second league match, also against the Raiders, ended in a 2-2 overtime tie. Two games later, a 2-1 loss to Jack Britt ended a 52-game conference unbeaten streak. The Patriots won out the rest of the way to claim their eighth consecutive conference title. Wednesday’s first goal by Sessoms, during a sudden rain shower, was missed by many of the fans who were still rummaging for their rain gear at the time. About eight minutes later, Travis Grasso blasted a cross from G.R. Horton into the net, making it 2-0. Soon after Sessoms made it 3-0 with a left-footed poke, the rain stopped but the goals kept coming. White penetrated the Raider penalty area in the 13th minute and sent a low, wicked shot past goalkeeper Cory Tedder. T.J. Smith got one back for the Raiders on a long direct kick, but at the 23-minute mark, the Patriots struck again. Grasso unloaded a shot from the left that Tedder couldn’t hold and teammate Marco Gironda was there for the finish. White scored again in the 31st minute, making it 6-1. After scoring only two goals in a 1-3 start against tough non-conference competition, the Patriots finally found the range in last Friday’s 4-2 victory over a tough Middle Creek squad from the Tri-Seven Conference. “We’ve been on fire since then,” said White, the conference player of the year last season. “We’ve been putting goals in the back of the net in the first few minutes and then just keeping it going. I think that win against Middle Creek really gave us a lot of confidence.” Sessoms, White and a number of the other starters watched during much of the second half. Sean McLeod, Coby Kavanaugh, Daniel Johnson and Karl Ainslie had second-half goals, with Johnson and Gironda receiving credit for assists. Patriot coach Larry Martin liked the fact that his team didn’t give the Raiders time to hang in the match, gaining confidence in the process. “Tonight, with the wind blowing around and the slick ball, anything can happen,” he said. “What was nice about tonight was the quality of the goals that we had. There were some great shots, great combinations and good finishes — it was fun to watch.” The most explosive of the Patriots during the three-game winning streak has been Sessoms. The junior forward scored one of the goals against Middle Creek and found the net three times against Scotland on Monday. “I think we’re passing better as a team and just overall playing better,” he said. “It’s just happening for us.” The Raiders were expected to put up a good fight after close losses to Lumberton and Terry Sanford. Raiders’ coach Bennie Howard summed up his team’s performance with one word, “outclassed.” “We’re a better team than that,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll do better when they come to our place.” The Patriots continue conference play with a match at Hoke County on Monday, starting with the jayvee contest at 5:30 p.m. The Patriot jayvee team improved to 2-0 in the conference and 4-2-1 overall with a 3-1 victory over the Raiders. <-Previous 9-12-05 at Scotland County (W, 9-2) 9-19-05 at Hoke County (W, 5-1) Next-> |