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Pinecrest vs Jack Britt Wednesday, September 21st, 2005 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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(4-0-0) |
5
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1 |
(3-1-0) |
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Pinecrest vs Jack Britt Wednesday, September 21st, 2005 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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(4-0-0) |
5
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1 |
(3-1-0) |
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| Was there any doubt that Pinecrest would be at the top of the Mid-Southeastern Conference soccer heap again this year? After rolling over Jack Britt 5-1 in Wednesday’s meeting at Pinecrest, any notion to the contrary should have disappeared. The win was the latest installment in a four-match string of conference contests where the Patriots have outscored the opposition 29-5 to secure a 4-0 top spot in the league. “It’s nice to win in a relaxed mode,” said Pinecrest coach Larry Martin following the match. Pinecrest won handily on what is becoming a standard template for this year’s squad — good ball movement, transition control and an early lead. The Patriots put that ball control to work quickly, setting up several runs that tested the Britt defense early. By the midpoint of the opening period, the Pats found the soft spots and grabbed the early lead in a four-minute flurry that opened up a 3-0 advantage. Travis Grasso announced the start of the run with a header into the left corner of the net off a short cross from Tommy Ransdell. Michael White bumped the tally to 2-0 a minute later, converting Russell Stewart’s corner kick for the score. Two minutes later, Ransdell turned and crossed to White from the left side of the box. White pulled the trigger and fired a bullet from the top of the arc to run the Patriot lead to 3-0. Pinecrest resumed the attack as the second half got under way. Midfielder G.R. Horton penetrated deep into the right corner and deposited the ball in a crowd in front of the Britt goal where Marco Gironda and White each got a toe on the ball before the Britt keeper was able to deflect the ball to the outside and avert the score. With the ball headed in the other direction, Pinecrest keeper Glen Holmes caught the short side of a scramble for possession near the 18, leaving the gate open for Timm Bullard to knock the loose ball in for the Buccaneers’ lone goal. Pinecrest quickly doused any spark that the Britt goal might have kindled. On another deep run into the corner, Grasso curled a cross toward the far post where Ransdell was waiting to bury the shot with a header. Then, with 19 minutes left on the clock, White lofted a soft pass from the midfield to Gironda, who gained a quick step on the last defender, and was off to the races with a breakaway down the middle for the final goal to set the score at 5-1. “I though our guys did a good job of limiting Britt’s transition opportunities,” Martin said. “That’s something we’ve tried to emphasize, and I think it showed tonight.” Martin was pleased with the win but still noted some areas for improvement. “I would like to have seen us get some of the goals we missed tonight. We’ll have to work on that.” The Pinecrest junior varsity continued to mirror the varsity in the conference picture with a solid 3-1 victory over the Britt jayvees. Gustavo Ocampo and Tyler Dawson recorded goals for Pinecrest, with Brandon Wilkins and Michael Pigg providing assists. Michael Hironymus rounded out the scoring with a penalty kick. Pinecrest (6-3-0 overall) takes a break from the conference schedule tonight with a home match against Two Rivers Conference leader Terry Sanford (8-2-0, 4-0-0). <-Previous 9-19-05 at Hoke County (W, 5-1) 9-23-05 vs Terry Sanford (T, 2-2) Next-> |