Wayne Country Day soccer falls
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 21, 2011 10:57 PM
WILSON -- The tank was empty.
Three days after upsetting an old nemesis in overtime, Wayne County Day's phenomenal playoff run ended Friday afternoon on the Gillette Soccer Complex pitch.
Catherine Funk scored two goals and handed out an assist, and Shannon Forest (S.C.) Christian handed the Chargers a 3-1, season-ending loss in their N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A final four contest.
"We used all 13 players today and that's all we had," said WCDS head coach William Hogan. "The older ones are feeling the pain (of the loss) and pretty broken up. It's not the way I wanted to finish the season, but it is a good end for us."
This time, however, the Crusaders didn't run away.
Nearly two months ago, Shannon Forest (15-4-1 overall) handed WCDS a nine-goal loss during a two-day tournament in Durham. It took the No. 5-ranked Crusaders almost 20 minutes to log their first goal in the second meeting.
Using the width of the field to stretch the Chargers' defense, senior forward Katie Harrell gathered a loose ball near midfield, but was forced to the sideline by WCDS sweeper Mack Thompson. Harrell shoved Thompson with a elbow to get some open space and crossed the ball to Funk, who was marked by a defender.
Funk passed off to Tricia Miller, who tucked the ball into the net for a 1-0 lead.
"I'll be honest with you, I think we came in a little over confident after beating them once pretty easily," said Crusaders coach Scott Simmons. "I knew they had improved and knew they were a good team after they had beaten Greenfield. We didn't play our game and credit Wayne Country Day, they came in with a plan and I think it worked for them for the most part.
"We got enough goals to win."
Shannon Forest controlled possession throughout the second half and constantly pressured the WCDS defense. Thompson and her backline mates cleared several balls, but the Chargers had no midfield presence and couldn't generate many attacks.
WCDS keeper Kim Martell, in her final prep game, got her mitts on 24 of the Crusaders' 34 shot attempts. She permitted two second-half goals to Funk, who helped Shannon Forest return to the state championship for the second straight year.
Martell logged a total of 50 saves in three playoff outings.
"Kim came up big again for us," said Hogan. "She's an awesome goal keeper and has really been an asset to us. We're going to miss her a lot."
The Chargers (13-7-0) avoided the shutout on Catherine Ford's goal after Funk had scored her second goal of the game. WCDS managed just three shots on goal -- two by Ford and one by sophomore Ami Hodges.