Eagles, Chargers play to 2-2 draw

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on September 3, 2004 1:59 PM

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Both Rosewood and Wayne Country Day's soccer teams walked away from a 2-2 draw at the Chargers' field knowing they had fought hard against a county opponent on a muggy afternoon.

With their respective conference season's looming, they also both recognize their is room for improvement.

The Chargers (5-0-1) outshot the Eagles 20-8 on the afternoon and missed a handful of easy shots around the goal -- including a penalty kick that sailed high with four minutes left trailing 2-1. Wayne Country Day eventually equalized the match less than two minutes later on a precise, give-and-go pass from Kevin Logan to Chris Reed.

Logan now has seven assists, while Reed notched his fifth goal.

Rosewood (1-4-1), who turned in an improved second half on both sides of the field, erased a 1-0 halftime deficit to take a one- goal lead. After Joey Churchwell tied the match with his first goal of the season, Brandon Hietpas knocked in a long ball played from defender Kyle Bunn 28 minutes into the second half.

"I felt like we played much harder and with intensity in the second half," Rosewood coach Daniel Mitchell said. "We put the pressure on them more than them on us. Hopefully we can build on this and it will carry over."

The long-ball proved effective on both goals against an often flat-footed Charger defense. Mitchell was also pleased with his teams ability to play more of a possession game in the final 40 minutes as well.

"We talked about that at halftime. I thought we were winning most of the 50-50 balls, but we didn't have anybody to play it to," he said. "We hooked up a few passes in the middle to give us a chance to make the through pass or the ball over the top."

The near misses seemed to come in waves for a Charger squad that has posted 37 goals in their first six games.

Sam Steed had a couple of near misses, including a shot that went just wide of the goal from short range 13 minutes into the second half. Hyo Won Ha missed an opportunity with nine minutes left with the Chargers down 2-1. The slippery field condition may have played a role as both team's struggled getting their footing during the match.

Taylor was quick to point out that both teams had to deal with the adverse conditions.

"They played on the same field and conditions we did. It could have gone either way," he said. "I know we out-shot them. It was just missed opportunity after opportunity."

Churchwell nearly missed on a breakaway chance for the Eagles, just before Reed's equalizer in the waning minutes.

The first half saw Wayne Country Day come out strong as Steed found Will Futrelle in the middle of the 18-yard box, who took a couple of dribbles and scored past Rosewood goalie Antell Richards to start the scoring. The goal was Futrelle's third, while Steed notched his sixth assist.

"Our front five work well together. We've just got to have somebody on the far back post when we cross," Taylor said. "Offensively, we are getting things done. The defense kind of stood and watched guys go by them. I think we are trying to do too much offsides trap, and we need to work on that."

Steed proved particularly dangerous on the wings against the Eagle defense that bent on a handful of occasions but didn't break. Rosewood defender Tyler Daniels had a couple of quick recoveries to halt a pair of Charger breakaways in the first half.

Neither team had played a match in a week, since Wayne Country Day's 5-2 win over Rosewood on Aug. 26.

Richards had seven saves in the goal for the Eagles, while Charger goalie Ryan Ford had five stops.

Wayne Country Day travels to face Cape Fear Academy today. Rosewood returns to action next Monday at home against Greene Central.

Rosewood 0 2 -- 2

Wayne Country Day 1 1 -- 2

First half

WCDS -- Futrelle (Steed assist), 4:57

Second half

RHS -- Churchwell unassisted, 41:30

RHS -- Hietpas (Bunn assist), 68:50

WCDS -- Reed (Logan assist), 78:15

RHS WCDS

8 Shots 20

6 Corner kicks 3

8 Fouls 13

4 Offsides 1

Saves -- Rosewood -- Richards 7. WCDS -- Ford 5.