Charles B. Aycock-West Carteret soccer
By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on May 12, 2011 1:47 PM
PIKEVILLE -- Seven years is a long time to wait for anything.
And it has felt like an eternity for Charles B. Aycock.
Hannah Fischler scored in the fourth minute of the first overtime as West Carteret survived for a 4-3 win in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A girls' soccer playoffs on Wednesday night.
Sophomore forward Cheyenne Warrick scored three second-half goals in a spirited comeback as the Golden Falcons lost an opening-round postseason match for the seventh straight year.
"We played a marvelous second half," said an emotional Aycock head coach Kevin Adkins. "I told the girls at halftime that the season comes down to this and for us to come out and play as hard as we can, and we did that. I just can't say enough about our effort.
"That playoff win has got to come. I'm 66 now and I'm not going to give it up."
The Patriots pressured Aycock's defense throughout the first half. A corner kick opportunity didn't materialize in the fourth minute. Golden Falcons' keeper Casey Scarboro made a sprawling save on Fischler in the sixth minute.
Aycock had a goal waived off in the 10th minute on an offside call.
Casey Murphy's header off Blake Dodge's pass in the 15th minute put West Carteret in front 1-0. The Patriots continued to work the ball down the wings and Fischler's goal off Dodge's assist in the 36th minute increased the lead to 2-0.
The Golden Falcons (17-5-0 overall) were awarded a penalty kick in the 46th minute after West Carteret was whistled for a hand ball inside the 18-yard box. Warrick beat keeper Maggie Sowell to pull Aycock to within 2-1.
Emily Schultz scored three minutes later to give the Patriots a 3-1 lead.
Scarboro's point-blank save on Fischler in the 51st minute kept the Golden Falcons within striking distance. The sophomore keeper finished with 14 saves in her first game back from an injury.
"She was the player of the match," said Adkins. "She just played a super game. She was on everything that got close to her."
Warrick's shot from the top of the 18-yard box in the 60th minute bounced off Sowell's hands and into the goal to cut the deficit to 3-2. Warrick tied the game at 3-3 off Cady Sheeks' assist in the 68th minute and she ended the season with 64 goals.
Fischler collected a loose ball inside the 18-yard box and scored in the fourth minute of the first overtime. Aycock managed just one corner kick and two shots on goal during the two 10-minute overtime periods.
The Golden Falcons return all 11 starters off this season's team that went 12-0 in Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference play and won the second ECC regular-season championship in program history.
"I think this season developed a lot of heart," said Adkins. "All but three girls will be back. We're going to pick up some girls coming up from Norwayne and some of our freshmen will be coming up, too. You play a game like this against a team like West Carteret and they've played the big names like Jacksonville and White Oak, and I really feel that we showed we're not a weak team."