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#10 Pinecrest vs New Hanover Saturday, May 17th, 2003 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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#10 Pinecrest vs New Hanover Saturday, May 17th, 2003 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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| If the Pinecrest girls’ soccer team has seemed to lack oomph at the end of state playoff matches in recent years, that was not the case in Saturday night’s 2-0 conquest at home against New Hanover. The Patriots took complete control of matters in the final 25 minutes of the game with Stephanie Carter scoring goals in the 58th and 71st minutes. The shutout was their 16th of the season, a team record. The win by the now 20-1-1 Mid-Southeastern Conference champions coupled with a second round loss by South View, another first seed, puts the Patriots at home at 6 p.m. tonight in a third-round clash against Wilmington Hoggard. “I’m proud of them for stepping up to the challenge,” said Pinecrest coach Lorna Martin, who watched her team take over a match that had all the earmarks of an impending overtime and perhaps the dreaded shootout conclusion. “It’s nice to have that second one at home.” After enjoying a marginal advantage in possession and scoring opportunities to that point, the Patriots began the decisive phase with Ann Fields and Sara Cole on the outside and Erin Cooper in the middle creating one opportunity after another down the right side. A Cole and Fields give-and-go into the penalty area led to back-to-back corner kicks. On the second by Cole, she found the forehead of the 5-foot-9 Carter who sent it high into the net. “We haven’t defended many corner kicks this year so that’s our Achilles heel,” New Hanover coach Chip Stone said after the game. “It was bound to get us some time.” The second goal also originated from a dead ball situation. A long throw-in from the other side by Lora Smith was first-timed across the field by Molly McGahey to Carter in the penalty area, about 10 yards to the right of the goal. The sophomore blasted it across the goal with her first touch finding the net just inside the far post. “Someone had to score in this game so I decided it might as well be me,” said Carter, who now has 17 for the season. “We’ve been real motivated, we practiced hard all week.” The strong finish was in contrast to first round losses in 2000 and 2001 and a second-round loss to New Bern a year ago. This year, the Patriots got a first-round bye. Tonight will be the team’s first ever appearance in a third-round match. After the game, Cooper, one of three senior captains along with Heather Barnes and Nikki Jones, talked about what she thinks helped keep her team strong until the end. “I think it had to do with what we talked about before the game,” she said of a meeting of the players. “Last year, a bunch of the players didn’t have their hearts in it. Tonight we talked about leaving our hearts on the field because it could be the last game we ever play together as a team. I’m proud that we did that and gave 110 percent.” The home team had an early chance to score when freshmen Ann and Katie Fields, who both competed in the state track championships held at North Carolina State only hours earlier, collaborated. In the fifth minute, an Ann Fields’ corner kick found the foot of her sister, but the shot was parried over the goal by New Hanover goalkeeper Jill Simmerman. The next best Patriot chance came in the 27th minute when Lauren Broderick worked her way inside and unloaded a low shot just outside the left post. The only anxious moments for Patriot goalkeeper Katelyn Burwell in the first half came during one sequence in the 11th minute when back-to-back no-calls by the officials on apparent off-sides situations led to shots. In the closing minutes, she pulled down a corner kick in a crowd. Overall, Pinecrest took 12 shots in the match to nine for New Hanover. Other than that, the defenses of both teams were in control until Pinecrest finally broke through. “They pressured us non-stop and that kind of got to us because we’re not necessarily used to that,” Martin said. “That’s the way the better teams play.” The third seed from the Mideastern Conference finished the season 8-10-1 with nine of the losses to teams ranked in the top 10 in 4-A or 3-A. Those included current number one and number two Apex and Broughton (4-A) and two losses to top-ranked White Oak (3-A). They also lost twice to sixth-ranked Jacksonville, the first seed from the Mideastern and a potential fourth round opponent for tonight’s winner. “We play an awesome schedule,” the New Hanover coach said. “We can play with anybody. Our record certainly was not an indication of the kind of team we have.” Hoggard (16-6-1), the number-two seed from the Mideastern, defeated Havelock 2-0 and South View 3-2 on penalty kicks to earn the trip to tonight’s encounter. The Pinecrest back four of Barnes, Smith, Krystal Haas and Allison Auman, with relief stints by Stacey Blanchard helped turn away the visitors. The two goals give the team a season record total of 118. Later Martin talked about the influence this year’s senior captains have had on the determination of the team, now ranked ninth in the state. “I think the difference is these captains have put so much time and effort into soccer for so many years playing year-round, they don’t want it to stop,” she said. “Last year we did better than most people expected us to do so we had good leadership in that respect. Their hearts were in it, but these seniors’ hearts, minds, bodies and souls are in it.” <-Previous 5-8-03 at Chapel Hill (W, 3-0) 5-21-03 vs Hoggard (Third Round, State Tourn. L, 0-3) Next-> |