SW-CBA soccer
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on October 21, 2010 1:47 PM
PIKEVILLE -- Southern Wayne celebrated its senior night on Monday at the Doyle Whitfield Athletic Complex.
On Wednesday, the Saints ruined senior night festivities at county rival Charles B. Aycock. The Saints got two goals from Chama Rodriquez and held off a late rally for a 2-1 win in the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference regular-season finale for both teams.
One night after getting a game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation and earning a draw with Triton, C.B. Aycock could never recapture the offensive magic. The Golden Falcons' only goal came in the 19th minute when Chase Thompson collected a pass from Michael Fearney and beat the oncoming keeper with a low line drive shot.
From that point, the Southern Wayne defense locked down the C.B. Aycock attack.
In the 38th minute, the Saints finally got their chance to push a goal across when Rodriquez drew a foul inside the 18-yard box. Rodriquez, who started his high school career at Aycock, approached the penalty shot and fired a shot into the right side of the net.
"We gave up a dumb penalty in the first half and basically gave away a goal," said C.B. Aycock head coach Kevin Adkins. "From that point on I think that (Southern Wayne) pretty much outplayed us."
After the intermission, both teams tried to gain the momentum by creating a scoring chance off of a long ball. Southern Wayne had the better fortune due to Jesus Rodriquez's and Alan Nunez's ability to win balls in the air.
By applying the pressure throughout the second half, the Saints were able to create a chance in the 67th minute. Chama Rodriquez collected a throw in from Ivan Perez and fired a bending shot into the back of the net for the game-winning goal.
"We did a really good job on defense all night and we were able to keep ourselves in the game until we got a good opportunity to score," said Saints head coach Mario Aquilar. "I am really proud of my guys for giving themselves a chance to make the playoffs by winning tonight."
Southern Wayne (7-9-0 overall, 7-5-0 ECC) out-shot C.B. Aycock 13-10 on the night. Golden Falcons' keeper Brandon Davis recorded six saves.
Both teams will take part in the first round of the conference tournament on Saturday. C.B. Aycock (13-6-2, 6-4-2) is projected to play host to Cleveland High School, while Southern Wayne faces Eastern Wayne. Game times have not been determined.