E. Wayne drops Aycock soccer
By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on October 13, 2011 1:48 PM
Eastern Wayne found plenty to play for with its playoff hopes all but dashed this season.
A visit from rival Charles B. Aycock and a chance to put a dent in the Golden Falcons' postseason chances was plenty of motivation. Jae Kim scored a hat trick (three goals) in the first half and the Warriors rolled to a 5-0 victory at Little Big Horn on Wednesday evening.
Collin Zacharzuk missed an opportunity to get Aycock on the scoreboard as his header off Juan Pina's pass missed just high. The Golden Falcons couldn't convert on corner kicks in the 15th and 21st minutes.
Eastern Wayne (4-10 overall, 4-6 ECC) struck early as Tyler Muehlenthaler scored off Joe Herlihy's assist in the 16th minute. Kim increased the lead to 2-0 off Muehlenthaler's assist in the 28th minute.
Aycock again squandered scoring chances on corner kicks in the 30th and 31st minutes.
Kim struck again in the 33rd minute scoring off a loose ball inside the 18-yard box.
"The first half was one of the better halves of soccer I've seen us play in a fair while," said Warriors head coach Jorg Wagner. "There were great runs off the ball. We were always available and in a good position. We finally put some balls in the net.
"Jae Kim had a great game finishing."
Kim's goal off a rebound in the 37th minute extended the margin to 4-0.
"We came and we watched," said Golden Falcons' head coach Kevin Adkins.
"We didn't play our game. We didn't put our heart into it. It was a just a non-effort game by the defense and the midfield. We just weren't here."
Eastern Wayne played the role of aggressor in the second half despite holding a 4-0 lead. The Warriors consistently pressured Aycock's defense, earned a corner kick in the 44th minute and got one final goal from Muehlenthaler in the 59th minute.
"I was really impressed with how our guys responded with having their backs to the wall," said Wagner. "I think beating a county rival with our back to the wall should give us some tailwind and motivation going into the Triton game that last time was extremely difficult for us.
"The boys are the gaining the confidence that the old series is maybe turning around in our favor at least for this year."
Aycock (9-5, 5-5) still controls its own destiny in the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference race with games against ECC foes North Lenoir and Southern Wayne remaining. The Golden Falcons visit Rosewood today.
"I told the boys they needed to go home and think about it," said Adkins. "They need to put their heart into this if they really want to continue on this year and be competitive they need to work on it at home. If they don't want to work on it, we'll play other players to get them experience so we can build for next year."
Eastern Wayne visits Triton on Monday.