CBA soccer falls to Rocky Mount

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 5, 2009 1:46 PM

• Print
• Email

ROCKY MOUNT -- Charles B. Aycock just can't exorcise those first-round playoff demons.

Senior forward Tim Bishop came off the bench to score two second-half goals, and Rocky Mount upended the Golden Falcons 2-1 in their opening match of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A boys' soccer playoffs Wednesday evening.

It was Aycock's third consecutive first-round loss in the postseason and fifth one-goal defeat in six outings overall since 2005.

"We played 120 percent and thought it was a very equal game, an entertaining game for the fans," said Golden Falcons head coach Kevin Adkins. "I can't enough about our defense because that's what has kept us in ballgames all year long."

Patrick Schultze, Travis Musselman, Daniel Ohnmeiss and Patrick Roosen played superb on the backline throughout the opening half against the Gryphons. The quartet intercepted numerous crosses inside the 18-yard box and sent them back upfield to help jumpstart the Aycock attack.

Keeper Brandon Davis (13 saves) knocked several Rocky Mount shots wide of the goal, and pitched a first-half shutout. Meanwhile, Gryphons keeper Drew Gorham turned the Golden Falcons away twice in the opening 40 minutes and finished with five saves overall.

Aycock erased the scoreless tie in the 54th minute on Jacob Palma's unassisted goal. Bishop collected the equalizer off a free kick just seven minutes later and punched in the game-winning shot -- off another free kick -- in the 69th minute.

"We relaxed on the free kicks," said Adkins. "The first one, we didn't clear the ball off the line and let it come off the post, sit there for someone to put in the net. The second one was an easy tap across the front of the goal and I guess we weren't marking up.

"(Rocky Mount) picked it up a little bit and up until then, the second half belonged to us. We kept attacking and attacking, but once again, it goes back to finishing."

The Golden Falcons, the Eastern Carolina Conference tournament champions, just missed forcing overtime in the final two minutes. A shot from just inside the 18 barely cleared the crossbar over the out-stretched gloves of Gorham.

It was the final contest for seven Aycock seniors -- Schultze, Roosen, Jose Rodriguez, keeper Charles Howell, Ryan DeMartini, Blake Vail, Landon Swan. The group logged a 73-12-3 record on the pitch, and won three Eastern Carolina Conference regular-season championships and four tournament crowns.