CBA wins half a game as coach is ejected

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on March 18, 2004 1:58 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- It is very rare that one first-half goal and one half of good defense are simply enough to win a soccer match.

Wednesday's tilt between Charles B. Aycock and Washington at the Golden Falcons' field proved to be an exception.

Aycock took a 1-0 lead into halftime on a goal by Christie Milleson with six minutes left in the first half, finished into the left corner off a free kick from nearly 20 yards out on the right sideline by Tara Fenton.

When the halftime whistle blew, Washington coach Ben Brand began arguing with an official about what he believed was a missed call late in the half on the Pam Pack's offensive end of the field. The referee eventually issued Brand a yellow card.

Brand continued to argue with the same official, and he was given a red card and ejected from the game. The Pam Pack had no assistant coaches to finish the second half, so the game ended 1-0 in the Falcons' favor before the second half even started.

All three referees said they had never seen a situation where a coach was ejected, and the team did not have an assistant coach in order to continue the game.

Aycock (5-2) improved to 2-0 in the Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference heading into a March 22 home match against West Carteret. Washington (3-4-1) dropped to 1-1 in conference play.

Milleson's goal capped an improved offensive stretch by the Falcons, who seemed sluggish out of the gate, but eventually found more offensive rhythm near the midway point of the first half.

Fenton, rotating between the sweeper and stopper position, and center midfielder Milleson improved through the half in feeding the forwards up front with passes -- increasing the pressure on the Pam Pack defense.

"We changed the momentum midway through the half, and I think we were a little sluggish coming out," Fidler said. "We moved some of the girls around, and Christie made a nice shot on the ball. I would like to think it would have continued in the second half.

Aycock finished with six shots in the first half to Washington's seven. Golden Falcon goalie Emily Stewart had six first-half saves, including a handful from point-blank range taken by the Pam Pack's Sarah Allen.

A majority of the first half was played near the Washington left wing as Aycock's Paige Stewart had her fair share of defensive clears from the right back position. Angela Cecil turned in a solid effort defensively as well.

"The girls that we have this year, it affords us a luxury to move things around a little," Fidler said. "We can change the momentum of the game a little bit when we move Tara from sweeper to stopper. "We've got a little flexibility and it's nice."