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Pinecrest vs Douglas Byrd Wednesday, May 7th, 2003 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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(14-0-0) |
7
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(1-11-1) |
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Pinecrest vs Douglas Byrd Wednesday, May 7th, 2003 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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(14-0-0) |
7
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0 |
(1-11-1) |
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| (Continued) The achievement of a 14-0 record in the Mid-Southeastern Conference was overshadowed by Senior Night at Pinecrest Wednesday evening. After several early close calls, the Patriots breezed to the next 11 league victories, nine of them shutouts, ending in a 7-0 win over Douglas Byrd. Following a game in which 19 of her players played almost equal amounts of time, Patriot coach Lorna Martin talked about the six seniors. “They have been good leaders on the field and off and very good role models for the younger kids,” she said. “They’ve helped to bring this team a long way, especially Heather (Barnes), Erin (Cooper) and Nikki (Jones), the ones that have been with us for four years.” Cooper scored twice and added an assist, Barnes had a goal and an assist, and Jones an assist Wednesday. Toni Giangrande, Jenn Schroeder and Catlynne Arreguin were the others playing in their last regular-season home game. Pinecrest completed the regular season with varsity and jayvee matches at Chapel Hill Thursday. As conference champs, they will receive a bye in next week’s first round of the 4-A state playoffs and host a second-round game, probably next Thursday or Friday. Thoroughly enjoying the special night that included the introduction of the seniors and their parents on the field was Barnes, the conference player of the year as a defender a year ago. Midway through the second half, she volleyed a cross from Anne Brannon into the net. Three minutes later, she sent a ball into the penalty area that Cooper converted making the score 5-0. “It’s my last home game,” Barnes said. “I came out hungry — I wanted it. She (coach Martin) played me in the midfield. That’s where I started as a freshman. She wanted to start me there.” Barnes said that she thinks the early-season tournament at Jekyll Island, Ga., might be a key to this team’s success that includes an 18-1-1 overall record and 14 shutouts. “We’re a young team,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of talented players and for some reason we seem to work well together. Maybe the Jekyll Island tournament helped us bond. Everybody loves everybody and we know how to play well together.“ One of the youngest players on the team opened the scoring against Douglas Byrd with one of the niftiest goals of the season. Freshman midfielder Ann Fields took possession in the Eagle third and beat four or five defenders before sending the ball across the goal and into the net with her left foot. Later, she used her dribbling skills again to score the Patriots’ sixth goal. Stephanie Carter volleyed home a cross from Lauren Broderick and Sarah Cole finished a loose ball following a cross from Jones for the other scores. Five of the seniors have made decisions on where they will continue their education next fall. Barnes signed to play soccer at Coastal Carolina. Giangrande and Jones plan to attend East Carolina. Arreguin will attend West Point Preparatory School and Cooper is undecided. Schroeder, who plans to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering at Appalachian State, was asked if concerns about the uncertainties of the next phase of her life makes it more difficult to concentrate on soccer. “Actually for me, it’s my way out of things,” she said. “It’s a way to get away from thinking about things. I love it. Everything is changing and I still have something that isn’t changing. Every body is working together and pushing each other.” Byrd, now 1-11-1 in the league and 2-12-1 overall, manufactured two shots in the game. Goalkeeper Katelyn Burwell made a leaping grab to turnaway a free kick by Sylest Donner in the first half. Watching the game were Lisa Southerland, Cassie Meloy and Maggie Gartman, all of whom had knee surgery since the season began. The injuries to Meloy and Gartman occurred before the season. Tuesday, the Patriots defeated Seventy-First 7-0 in Fayetteville. Broderick (two), Brannon, Ann Fields, Cole, Stacey Blanchard and Burwell scored the goals. Ann Fields, Katie Fields, Jenny Fields, Arreguin and Brannon recorded assists. Pinecrest statistical leaders – Erin Cooper – 19 goals, 11 assists, 49 points; Katie Fields – 18 goals, 7 assists, 43 points; Lauren Broderick – 15 goals, 11 assists, 41 points; Stephanie Carter – 15 goals, 3 assists, 33 points; Anne Brannon – 7 goals, 14 assists, 28 points; Ann Fields – 8 goals, 5 assists, 21 points; Sara Cole - 5 goals, 5 assists, 15 points; Nikki Jones – 4 goals, 3 assists, 11 points; Molly McGahey – 4 goals, 2 assists, 10 points. <-Previous 5-6-03 at Seventy-First (W, 7-0) 5-8-03 at Chapel Hill (W, 3-0) Next-> |