Greenfield shuts down Chargers

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 7, 2009 1:46 PM

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Mama said there'd be days like this.

Wayne Country Day wants to quickly forget it.

Arch nemesis Greenfield benefited from an indirect kick and added an early second-half goal in a 2-0 conquest of the Chargers on a cloudy, drizzly Tuesday afternoon.

"If we can finish ..." said WCDS coach Michael Taylor.

Finish, indeed.

WCDS misfired on 21 shots, a majority which occurred within 18 yards of the goal in the Coastal Plains Independent 1-A Conference affair. Senior keeper Jarred Hinton logged 15 saves as the visiting Knights earned their seventh shutout of the season, and 11th consecutive victory over the Chargers since 2004.

"Jarred gets shot on a lot, but can he catch those balls ... balls a lot of folks wouldn't get," said Greenfield coach Ben Forbes. "It's like he's got velcro on his hands. It comes there and he's got it. He doesn't fumble the ball.

"Wayne Country Day played some darn pretty ball. Their passing was phenomenal, they just didn't get one in ... had a little trouble finishing today."

Hinton turned away numerous point-blank, one-on-one shots.

Chargers captain Cameron Ford just missed converting a header off Tyson Pearson's pass. Pearson had three shots that floated dangerously close to the crossbar and missed by inches.

Wayne Country Day (11-5-1 overall, 1-3-1 CPIC) suffered its second straight shutout loss and first defeat at home this season.

"The second half, their goalie contained every ball that was hit right to him and we had guys following the shots," said Chargers coach Michael Taylor. "I'm proud of the midfield and forwards. I thought we outplayed them tonight, we just didn't get lucky with the bounces."

The luck belonged to Greenfield.

Late in the opening half, the Knights lost possession near the WCDS 18-yard box. The Chargers' Blake Marchese nearly recorded an "own" goal as he knocked the ball back to keeper Cody Neal, who slid into the net and prevented the ball from crossing the line.

Neal put the ball in play and Taylor thought his team had dodged a bullet.

However, the linesman waved his flag and called the head referee over to discuss the play. The Knights (9-7-3, 3-0-1) received an indirect kick and Clayton Stakes' one-touch blast deflected off a Chargers defender into the net.

"A gift ... Manna from Heaven," said Forbes. "I've never had that happen before. That kind of set them back on their heels a little bit."

Jeremy Jeffers' goal in the 41st minute extended the Knights' advantage to 2-0.

"That took the pressure off," said Forbes.

Wayne Country Day controlled possession throughout the second half, but couldn't end its scoreless drought that has lasted 160-plus minutes.