Cornerstone scores first three goals, defeats Conquerors 3-1

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on October 13, 2010 1:47 PM

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Faith Christian was hoping to deliver a performance it could build on when the N.C. Christian Schools Association Coastal Region 2-A Conference playoffs begin on Thursday.

It had to settle for a half, instead.

The Conquerors settled down after a shaky first half in a 3-1 home loss to Cornerstone Christian on Tuesday afternoon.

The Cougars applied pressure to Faith's defense throughout the first half. Eric Hecker's attempted cross bounced off the hands of Conquerors' keeper Brandon Jones and into the net in the fifth minute.

Stephen DeBruler's shot tucked into the top left corner of the net to extend the lead to 2-0 in the 22nd minute.

Hecker collected a loose ball inside the 18-yard box and scored in the 25th minute. Cornerstone held an 11-4 advantage in shots on goal and a 3-1 edge in corner kicks in the first half.

"We've not played a game in a week and a half," said Faith Christian head coach Jon Corbett. "We just came out dead. In the second half we found some motivation, and came out and played like we should have."

The Conquerors shutout the Cougars in the second half and Silas Denlinger's goal midway through the period cut the deficit to 3-1. Jones finished with five saves.

Faith (4-6-0 overall) begins its playoff journey Thursday against an opponent to be determined.

"We'll have to bring our A-game in the first half in the playoffs," said Corbett. "We haven't done this normally, except for two games. If we play like this Thursday we'll lose for sure."