C.B. Aycock tops Triton in ECC final
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 29, 2009 1:47 PM
PIKEVILLE -- Five-peat secure.
Barely.
Chase Thompson's goal in the 94th minute capped a stirring second-half comeback as Charles B. Aycock edged Triton 2-1 in double overtime Wednesday evening at Hardy Talton Stadium. The Golden Falcons seized an unprecedented fifth consecutive Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference men's soccer tournament championship.
"Too bad we didn't get the (regular-season) conference (title) to go with it, but I'm happy with one this year," said Aycock coach Kevin Adkins. "It's just another great year."
And another fantastic finish.
Aycock played its third straight one-goal game in a six-day stretch and improved to 5-1 overall in one-goal outcomes this season. The Golden Falcons have won a phenomenal 55 of 60 meetings against ECC opposition in regular-season and tournament play combined since 2005.
"A helluva game," said Triton coach Joe Miriello. "It was a fantastic game for both sides and a well-played game."
The teams played even in possession, defended set pieces well and teased their respective crowds with tantalizing shots throughout the opening half. Aycock (17-3-1 overall) misfired twice inside the 6-yard box early during the first five minutes.
Triton (9-10-1) had one shot clang off the crossbar and the rebound follow roll just wide of the post around the 20th minute.
The scoreboard showed 0-0 at halftime.
"It seemed like there was a steel cage around the net," said Adkins.
The fourth-seeded Hawks broke the scoreless deadlock seven minutes into the second half. Sophomore midfielder Daniel Goff ran onto a ball, dribbled down the right side and crossed the ball to Jamie Herrera.
Aycock keeper Charles Howell covered the near post as Herrera, a junior midfielder, blasted a shot toward the back post. The ball deflected off the crossbar and into the net.
"The goal didn't demoralize me and I wasn't going to give up on our team," said Thompson, a sophomore. "We came back and fought hard."
The second-seeded Golden Falcons kept pressuring the Hawks, who upset regular-season champ South Johnston in a penalty-kick shootout Monday. Fatigue from the 100-plus minute outing started to plague Triton and Aycock dominated possession in the final 30 minutes.
"You could tell Monday's game was starting to wear on our guys' legs," said Miriello. "We were running out of gas late against South Johnston and had a light jog in practice yesterday (Tuesday) to preserve a little bit of energy for today.
"The fatigue really showed, you could see that we were a little winded and getting a little dead leg."
Still, the Golden Falcons couldn't connect.
Ten consecutive shots went wayward until Daniel Ohnmeiss scored the game-tying goal in 74th minute off Jose Rodriguez's cross from the right side of the 18-yard box. Brandon Davis started the play with a tap pass off a throw-in, and it was Ohnmeiss' second goal of the season.
"Once Daniel scored that goal, it gave us motivation to keep going," said Thompson.
Aycock controlled the overtime sessions. Another cross from Rodriguez found Thompson's feet for the game-winning goal.
"I was at the right place at the right time and it went between the keeper's legs," said Thompson. "We worked hard and got a good outcome out of it."