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#8 Pinecrest vs Enloe Saturday, May 10th, 2008 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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#8 Pinecrest vs Enloe Saturday, May 10th, 2008 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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| The Pinecrest girls' bid to get past a major hurdle in the state 4-A soccer playoffs came up short on a late goal by Enloe at the John Williams Athletic Complex Saturday night. With just over three minutes left in regulation, the visitors won a ball near the right side of the Patriot penalty box. The Eagles' Isadora Cerullo ran on to the ensuing loose ball and buried it in the net, breaking a 1-1 tie. First-half goals were scored by Jasmine Mollin of Enloe and Pinecrest's Morgan Maples. Pinecrest winds up its season with a record of 19-2-1 after the 2-1 loss, while Enloe (17-5) advances to a third-round match against East Chapel Hill. "We knew coming in that Enloe was going to be a tough opponent, and we'd have to play hard the whole time," said Latanya Cain, one of seven seniors who played their last game for Pinecrest. "I believe we did. I believe we left it all on the field." Enloe scored first, culminating about a five-minute siege on the Patriot goal. In the 31st minute, a long throw-in led to a header by Mollin that went over the reach of Patriot goalkeeper Sarah Dejak. The Patriots answered in the 36th minute. Kate Hieronymus unloaded a shot on Eagle goalkeeper Abigail Swank from just inside the penalty box. Swank could not wrap it up, and Maples poked the rebound high into the net. Leading up to the decisive goal, both goalkeepers had to come up big for their teams again and again. A number of times in the second half, Patriot midfielders Hieronymus and Amber Fernandez were able to pierce the Eagle defense with clever through balls. Twice, Cain met goalkeeper Swank and the ball simultaneously on such attacks, coming up empty one time, earning a corner kick on another. "I was ready," Swank said of her confrontations with Pinecrest's leading goal scorer (51 on the season). "You have to be ready to go all out." In the 71st minute, Cain sent a ball through that was just out of the reach of the foot of teammate Lyndsey Anderson at the far post. Six minutes later, Eagle playmaker Stephanie Shaw linked up with Cerullo for the winning goal. "It's definitely a game of inches, "Cain said. "We all think if we had just made that one tackle, or made a little shot around the keeper, maybe it would have been a whole different game. "I'm proud of everybody on the team, and I'm excited about them (teammates) for the future." Even though Pinecrest was a first seed, and Enloe was a third, the team from Raleigh played in a much tougher conference (Cap 7), creating a situation where it was more battled tested. Eagle coach Jason Wolfe was impressed with the Patriot defenders. "They have some fast girls in the back, and some girls that are very good with the ball at their feet," he said. "It was more of a defensive battle than I thought it would be. The run of play was pretty even most of the game." Pinecrest defeated Panther Creek 2-1 in overtime in Tuesday's first-round match. Completing their Pinecrest careers Saturday were Cain, Maples, Fernandez, Sarah White, Lisa Hopkins, Christina Klug, Caitlin McArdle and Keely Harbour. "It's a great group of seniors, and we appreciate all they've done during their careers," Patriot coach Larry Martin said. "In a competitive match like that, you know it's going to come down to a little bounce of the ball, or fortunate or unfortunate things that occur. "We would love to be going forward. I feel bad for the seniors and all the kids who have been a part of this program all year, working hard. "I thought they did a great job of working together, blending together." <-Previous 5-6-08 vs Panther Creek (First Round, State Tourn. W, 2-1) |