Rosewood falls 2-1

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on April 17, 2008 3:06 PM

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Class 1-A Carolina Conference soccer rivals Rosewood and North Johnston played identical halves Wednesday evening.

But the Panthers won the half that counted the most.

Four-foot-11 dynamo Haley Newsome collected the game-winning goal in the 58th minute as the Panthers claimed a come-from-behnd, 2-1 victory at Branch Pope Field.

North Johnston, ranked No. 11 in the latest N.C. Soccer Coaches Association 1-A poll, improved to 9-4 overall and evened its league worksheet at 1-1. Rosewood, ranked No. 13 in the same poll, dropped to 8-5-1 overall and 1-1 against conference opposition.

The Eagles played an aggressive, physical pace and beat the Panthers to numerous loose balls in the opening half. A hard foul outside the 18-yard box set up Rosewood's lone goal, a right-footed strike from Mary Jo Moore off a free kick in the third minute.

"We got a lucky goal," said Rosewood head coach Eddie Maldonado.

Rosewood protected its one-goal advantage the remainder of the half. The Panthers controlled possession during a 15-minute stretch and prevented the Eagles from crossing midfield.

But North Johnston finished 0-for-5 on shot attempts.

"We were not playing quite as physical as them and our coach told us if we didn't start playing physical, we were going to lose," said Newsome. "It was all about whoever scores the first goal (in the second half) and we got it."

The Panthers initiated the attack in the