Saints drop Warriors on pitch

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on October 12, 2010 1:47 PM

• Print
• Email

There's something to be said for perseverance.

Especially when it spans 18 years.

Jesus Rodriguez scored four goals and Southern Wayne rolled to a 5-0 victory over Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference nemesis Eastern Wayne on Monday evening. The Saints snapped an 18-year, 35-game regular-season losing streak in the series.

Rodriguez's shot in the 10th minute deflected off the hands of Eastern Wayne keeper Jordan Furgeson and into the back of the net.

Ferguson raced out of the goal and made a sliding stop on the ball as Southern Wayne's Fenny Martinez charged toward the net in the 18th minute. Martinez collected a rebound off Jose Rodriguez's shot and scored in the 27th minute.

Jesus Rodriguez's long, bending shot in the 36th minute gave the Saints a 3-0 lead.

"At practice last week and on Saturday we mixed in a few things, and it looks like it's working," said Southern Wayne head coach Mario Aguilar. "Jesus got a lot of assistance from Fenny and Jose."

The Warriors held a 13-7 edge in shots on goal in the first half, but were harassed by Saints' defenders throughout the night. Southern Wayne blocked numerous shots before they got to the goal. When Eastern Wayne attackers were passed the ball, they were frequently met by multiple defenders.

The Warriors squandered corner kicks in the ninth and 31st minutes. Rafeal Guerra's header in the 33rd minute was saved by Saints' goalkeeper Luis Castaneda.

Eastern Wayne was held to just three shots on goal in the second half, and failed to convert three corner kicks during that stretch. Ryan Allison's shot in the 49th minute sailed wide and Guerra's shot in the 64th minute was saved by Castaneda.

"It started sloppy on our part," said Eastern Wayne head coach Jorg Wagner. "It kept being sloppy on our part and it ended sloppy on our part. That was a mess today. At the end of the day, every player has to put forward an effort to win games like this and we did not.

"Even when I put the reserves in, I didn't see a noticeable drop in performance."

Jesus Rodriguez scored his third and fourth goals in the 64th and 73rd minutes, respectively. Castaneda finished with 10 saves and Ferguson made five stops.

Southern Wayne (5-8-0 overall, 5-4-0 ECC) entertains South Johnston on Wednesday, while Eastern Wayne (4-7-0, 4-4-0) visits archrival Charles B. Aycock.