Aycock whips Greene Central

By Rob Craig
Published in Sports on September 12, 2007 1:48 PM

• Print
• Email

PIKEVILLE -- Soccer is in Alex Rodriguez's blood.

Rodriguez's father taught him the game as well as many of his dazzling moves that he is now using to carve up the opposition.

On Tuesday night, he no doubt made his father proud. Rodriguez recorded a hat trick (three goals) and his Charles B. Aycock teammates tallied four more in a 7-1, non-conference drubbing of Greene Central.

"(Alex) is something else," said C.B. Aycock assistant coach Byron Adkins. "He's what makes us go. If he's having an off night, then the team will have an off night."

Fortunately for Adkins, his star had anything but an off night.

Less than 11 minutes into the opening half, Rodriguez helped notch the game's first goal. He received a pass, headed the ball forward and, after a few dribbles, crossed to a streaking Jorge Delgado who made a one-touch boot past Rams' goalie Cory Carlyle.

"Alex compliments Jorge well," said Adkins. "They play really well together."

A defensive battle ensued and the teams trotted into halftime with Aycock ahead 1-0. But fatigue took over Greene Central and as the final seconds of the half ticked away, its players constantly gasped for air.

In the second half, Aycock took advantage of the Rams' tired legs.

"If you're not fit and you want to play against us, we'll run all the time," said Adkins. "We have two speedy forwards in Jorge and Alex, and it can be hard to keep up with them."

Two minutes into the second half, the Golden Falcons displayed the speed Adkins mentioned. Rodriguez sprinted onto a pass, stopped, spun and rocketed a shot from 25 yards out into the goal for a 2-0 lead.

The floodgates opened following the goal.

Rodriguez scored again minutes later when Andrew Musselman crossed a pass to him in the middle of the box. Rodriguez drilled a shot to the right of the goalie for a 3-0 lead.

got into the act in the 49th minute when Greene Central failed to clear the ball. Forrest gathered the ball at the top of the box and kicked a high, hard shot past Carlyle for a 4-0 Aycock advantage.

"First half we started kind of slow," said Adkins. "We made some adjustments at halftime and the boy came out firing on all cylinders in the second half."

Rodriguez completed his hat trick as he tapped a shot in the goal after taking a pass from Tucker Pearson and out-running the defense. The sophomore forward received a hug from Pearson and showed his usual big smile following the shot.

"I love this game," said Rodriguez. "This game you have to enjoy it so you can do it well."

C.B. Aycock (4-2-1 overall) emptied its bench in the final minutes, but still got plenty of production. On a corner kick, Forrest found David Burke who headed in a shot and Thomas Oliver would add Aycock's seventh goal of the night.

The only blemish against Aycock and goalie Brandon Davis came in the second half when Felipe Jimenez scored. In all, the Rams (2-2) managed just six shots against the stiff Golden Falcon defense. By comparison, Aycock recorded 20 shots.

"We were able to put it away early so I was able to go to my bench and that's a good thing since we have a game tomorrow," said Adkins, whose team hosts Spring Creek tonight. "We're kind of hitting our stride. We're doing really well right now."