DeRatt, Bruins turn back Golden Falcons

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on March 18, 2009 1:47 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- A poor start doomed Charles B. Aycock in its 3-2 loss to Wilson Beddingfield on Tuesday evening at Hardy Talton Stadium.

It was the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference opener for both teams.

The Bruins dominated the game's opening minutes and grabbed an early lead. Forward Malika Connor collected a pass on the right sideline and dribbled into the Golden Falcon's 18-yard box before unleashing a shot that eluded keeper Courtney Sheeks.

Moments later, fellow Bruin forward Jamie DeRatt blasted a shot on goal that Sheeks corralled. DeRatt refused to be denied and buried her second opportunity off an assist from Zolly Rivera in the seventh minute.

"That may be as bad of a ten-minute stretch as I have ever seen these girls play," said Golden Falcons' head coach Tom Zietlow. "We just came out flat and it took us a while to get going."

C.B. Aycock found its offense midway through the first half.

Alicia Sodoma was awarded a free kick at the 30-yard line. Sodoma's would-be shot went wide of the net, but found the foot of Samantha Parrish, who booted it home.

Beddingfield maintained its 2-1 advantage at the intermission.

In the second half, both teams struggled with sloppy field conditions and dropping temperatures.

The Golden Falcons (2-2-1 overall, 0-1 ECC) nearly tied the contest midway through the half when Caroline Schlaeppi narrowly missed a breakaway chance. In the 25th minute, Schlaeppi atoned for her error and evened the game with a laser shot that was the result of a loose ball in the box.

DeRatt made sure the Golden Falcons' rejoicing did not last long.

In the 73rd minute, the talented senior drove a shot on goal. Sheeks dove to her left and made the initial save, but the rebound bounced directly back to DeRatt who hammered the eventual game winner.

"DeRatt is their best player and she is a great scorer," Zietlow said. "When she gets that much time you might as well mark it in the book."

The Bruins stiffened defensively and held on for the victory.

"I thought we won 70 minutes of this ballgame," said Zietlow. "Unfortunately we lost the first 10 minutes and that was enough to cost us the game."

Sheeks finished with 12 saves. Beddingfield keeper Vielka Givens notched 10 stops. The Bruins outshot the Golden Falcons 16-14, including 4-0 in the opening eight minutes.

"Courtney did a great job of keeping us in it when we were down early," said Zietlow. "I feel like she is one of the best keepers in the area, and tonight she made some big saves."

Charles B. Aycock entertains Princeton on Thursday.