04/06/04 — Soccer -- CBA tops Warriors

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Soccer -- CBA tops Warriors

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on April 6, 2004 1:59 PM

PIKEVILLE -- Young athletes learn the adage, "Don't stop until the whistle blows," almost as soon as they step on the playing field for the first time.

The Charles B. Aycock girls soccer team continues to put the saying into practice.

Two of the Golden Falcons' three goals against rival Eastern Wayne came on followed shots around the goal as Aycock emerged with a 3-1 win at home on Monday.

"It's something we've worked on in practice. We know we need to keep pressure on the net," Falcons' coach John Fidler said. "With Mary Beth (Hooks), Christie (Milleson) and Jessy (Lamb), they are aggressive, quick girls that make things happen for us."

Less than five minutes into the game, Milleson tallied the lone goal of the first half -- finishing a loose ball in the box after a perfectly-placed corner kick by Nicole Taylor was headed by Lamb.

On another follow near the goal, Lamb proved to be the last Aycock player that touched the ball as her shot hit an Eastern Wayne defender before rolling into the net near the 27-minute mark of the second half.

Tara Fenton capped the Falcons' scoring two minutes later with a right-footed blast on a direct kick from nearly 25 yards out that went untouched into the upper right corner.

The second half saw Aycock (8-3, 5-1 Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference) outshoot Eastern Wayne 12-5, getting most of those looks in the first 30 minutes of the half. Milleson and Hooks pressured the middle of the Warrior defense and did a good job of playing the ball out wide to the right wing to Nicole Taylor.

"I think a lot of the things we have been working on in practice are starting to work, like give-and-go's," Milleson said. "We are meshing a lot better."

The Warriors found more of an offensive rhythm late in the second, but it proved too little, too late. Eastern Wayne (3-5, 3-3 ECC) got on the board when Melissa Stansell finished a pass from Natalie Taylor with just under 10 minutes left in the game, denying Aycock's sixth shutout of the season.

The Warriors were outshot 17-11 on the game but had a handful of breakaway opportunities through the game as Aycock goalie Emily Stewart turned away several of those chances with point-blank saves.

With 24 minutes left and the Falcons ahead 3-0, Stewart tipped a close shot from Taylor onto the top of the cross bar. It resulted in an Eastern Wayne corner kick, but it saved an almost-certain goal.

"In the second half, we had three or four open chances, but were unable to convert," Eastern Wayne coach Jorg Wagner said. "That seemed to be the theme of the afternoon: -- CBA scores on their opportunities, and, for the most part, we missed ours."

Stewart finished with six saves on the game. Warrior keeper Ashley Lish finished with 10 saves, including a diving save to her left on a penalty kick with the score 3-0 in the second half.

Defensively, Paige Stewart, Lizzie Sodoma and Angela Cecil turned in solid outings for Aycock against the quick, Warrior forwards.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday to begin the second half of the conference schedule before taking a week off for Spring Break. The Falcons host Kinston, while the Warriors travel to South Central.

E. Wayne 0 1 -- 1

C.B. Aycock 1 2 -- 3

First half

CBA -- Milleson (Lamb assist), 36:00

Second half

CBA -- Lamb unassisted, 27:30

CBA -- Fenton unassisted, 25:45

EW -- Stansell (Taylor assist), 9:45

EW CBA

11 Shots 17

7 Corner kicks 8

2 Offsides 3

4 Fouls 7

Saves -- Lish (EW) 10, Stewart (CBA) 6