Game 10 Pinecrest vs #10 Hoggard Friday, September 19th, 2008 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC
(8-1-1)	3		1	(4-1-2)
Goals: John Kropp, Matt Carricker, Aaron Stroker (PC), Zachary Sult (HG) Assists: Matt Carricker, John Kropp (PC) Pinecrest     1    2  -  3 Hoggard      1    0  -  1
PATS WRECK VIKINGS: TWO SECOND-HALF GOALS LEAD TO 3-1 VICTORY By Charlie Bergmann: Staff Writer, The Pilot, Appeared Sunday, September 21st, 2008

The Pinecrest boys' soccer team treated a festive Friday night home crowd to a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over 10th-ranked Wilmington JT Hoggard.      John Kropp and Matt Carriker each contributed a goal and an assist in the renewal of a nonconference rivalry that is always intense. The Patriots improved to 8-1-1 while the 4-1-2 Vikings suffered their first loss of the season.      "We just came into this game focused," said Carriker, a senior, who has been a member of three Patriot squads that have now split four matches against the Vikings. "We didn't get too excited. We just came in to accomplish something. We were on a mission."      The visitors had the edge in the early going, forcing Patriot goalkeeper Matt Scott to go airborne once to push a shot wide, and another time to parry a shot over the goal. Then in the 19th minute, Zachary Sult slipped one past the on-rushing Scott, putting Hoggard in front 1-0.      Then the Patriots quickly turned the pressure on the visitors and never let up.      Five minutes after the Viking goal, Carriker slipped a pass to John Kropp just above the Viking penalty circle. Kropp penetrated, was dispossessed, and then won the ball back before poking it into the net for the equalizer. It was only the second goal scored against the visitors this season.      That was all of the first-half scoring, but the Patriots began making a Viking squad that played a grueling, scoreless overtime match against Ashley the night before, chase the ball.      "The backs were playing strong, getting the ball to the midfield, and then we were switching it," central midfielder Thomas Goulden said. "We practice it a lot and tonight we definitely did it pretty well. We made them run. They were tired already and the switching made them more tired."      Carriker found the net with a blast from about 45 yards in an earlier match against Laney. A first-half attempt from that range missed the mark. But in the 50th minute, he unloaded a hard oscillating shot from about 35 yards that seemed to confuse the Viking goalkeeper as it went by him, giving the Patriots a 2-1 lead.      "When I get a shot, I take it," Carriker said. "I don't really worry about the placement because I know if I hit it hard enough, it will knuckle and freak the goalkeeper out. He'll go one way and the ball will go the other."      The Patriots used a quick restart off a foul to add to their lead in the 66th minute.      Kropp was the one fouled, causing him to fall to the turf about 30 yards in front of the Viking goal. With two other teammates standing near the ball, discussing the upcoming free kick, he got to his feet and sent the ball wide to Aaron Stroker.      Stroker's lofted shot from the right side of the penalty area went over the head of the goalkeeper and into the net.      "That really put it away," Carriker said. "It was over right then."      Senior right-back Eric Parziale thought one of the keys to the victory was the team's unselfish play.      "Our fitness is much better than the other team's," he said. "By working the ball around a lot more tonight, we were able to use our fitness to tire out the other team."      He also thought the early saves by Scott were important.      "The confidence of the keeper really carried over to the rest of the team," he said.      The Patriots enjoyed an 18-6 shot advantage in the contest. Scott and Lewis Cable shared the goalkeeping.      Before the match, Patriot coach Larry Martin talked about how the support of the Patriot fans could be a factor in the outcome. With the undefeated Patriot football team on a bye week, this Friday night belonged to the soccer team. The crowd of 480 included a large and vocal student section.      At the end, the celebration by players and their supporters resembled the kind of scene after a playoff victory.      "Frankly, I think the guys played as well as I remember them playing in a long time," Martin said. "It was sweet, and the other thing it was a lot of fun. We had a lot of enthusiasm coming from the parents as well as the student section. I think the kids (students) enjoyed themselves."      "The crowd tonight was amazing," Parziale said. "They were energizing us."      The Patriots take a 4-0 mark in the Mid-Southeastern Confer-ence into matches at Jack Britt on Monday and at home against Westover on Wednesday. On Friday, they take on fourth-ranked Apex.      The Patriot Green team (6-1) won the jayvee contest 2-1. Bryce Baldelli and Gray Anderson scored the goals for the home team. Dane Nelson and Zach Pressley were credited with assists. Goalkeeper Mitchell Dotson made a couple of outstanding second-half saves to protect the lead. Rivalry Renewed: Pats, Vikings No Strangers to Competition      Pinecrest soccer coach Larry Martin and JT Hoggard coach John Teller have been on opposite sides of the field from each other in boys' and girls' soccer matches many times.      The Patriots' 3-1 home victory over the 10th ranked Vikings on Friday night puts the boys' teams at 2-2 over the past three years. But the Viking boys hold a 5-3-1 edge since 2000, and knocked the Patriots out of the state playoffs in 2006.      The Viking girls have owned their Patriot counterparts in recent years, knocking them out of the state playoffs in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007.      In one of the most exciting matches of the series between the boys, the Patriots prevailed 3-2 after a penalty kick shootout in the semi-finals of the 2000 Fayetteville Academy Tourna-ment. Nathan Phifer and Danny Milewski scored for the Patriots during regulation time. Milewski, Phifer, Jason Voss and Alfredo Gil connected to give them a 4-2 edge in penalty kicks.      Joe Burger, who is now the head coach of the East Chapel Hill team that is scheduled to visit Pinecrest on Oct. 24, was the goalkeeper for the Patriots in that match.      After Friday's contest, Teller told Martin that of all the Patriot teams he has faced, this one impressed him the most.      "Pinecrest has a great record, has had a lot of great players, and a lot of great teams before," the Hoggard coach said. "But I thought this was as well a played game by a Pinecrest team I've seen. They played well together, helped each other out, and were well-organized and composed."      There was plenty for Martin to be pleased about in Friday night's performance, but one of the things that stuck out was his team's passing.      "We let the ball do the work," he said. "The other team can't keep up with the ball if you have sharp, clean passes."       Pinecrest is scheduled to meet a ranked team for the third Friday in a row when No. 4 Apex visits the John Williams Athletic Complex this week.      Apex, Pinecrest and Hoggard could be involved in a juggling act of Monday's North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association poll after a week that saw five of the top 10 teams and seven of the first 14 suffer a loss or a tie.      While the Patriots, 19th in last week's voting, went 3-0, Apex had mixed results, defeating No. 1 Green Hope 1-0 on Monday before falling by the same score to Panther Creek on Wednesday. Panther Creek should make a big move from No. 20 after also tying Green Hope on Friday.      The Patriots led then-second-ranked Apex 2-0 at home last September on first-half goals by Thomas Goulden and Coby Kavanaugh.      The match played before almost 1,000 fans was wiped off the books when lightning suspended play before halftime and it was never resumed.                - Charlie Bergman Season:   Goals Scored: 32     Goals Allowed: 8     Overall Record: 8-1-1    Conference Record: 4-0-0 <-Previous 9-17-08 vs Hoke County (W, 3-0)             9-22-08 at Jack Britt (W, 6-1) Next->