Rosewood shuts down Union, advances to 2nd round

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on October 31, 2012 1:49 PM

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Slowing down Thanh Truong can be difficult for most teams at full strength.

Containing the speedy Truong while playing two men down is virtually impossible.

Truong scored four goals and Rosewood defeated Union 4-0 on Tuesday night at Branch Pope Field in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A state playoffs.

The Eagles visit Wallace-Rose Hill (20-1-1) in the second round on Saturday. The Bulldogs defeated Rosewood 9-0 on Aug. 21.

The Spartans played the majority of the second half down two players after Yoni Martinez and Michael Pineda both received red cards.

Union controlled the possession early and earned three corner kicks in the first 10 minutes.

The Eagles (14-6-0) began to generate possession of their own and Reed Howell's free kick missed just wide in the 15th minute. Rosewood keeper Daniel Herring made a point-blank save on Martinez's shot in the 22nd minute to keep the game scoreless.

The Eagles' defense and midfield began to work passes forward and Truong won the ball from a defender and beat keeper John Dominguez in the 28th minute. Truong gathered a loose ball inside the 18-yard box and slipped a shot past Dominguez in the 32nd minute to increase Rosewood's lead to 2-0.

"In the first 10 or 15 minutes we couldn't really get control of the game," Eagles' head coach Eddie Maldonado said. "They were kicking balls into our half of the field and then I think after Thanh scored his first goal, it kind of settled us down.

"He was on a roll tonight. We know if we can slip a ball through and he can get on to it then good stuff tends to happen."

Union displayed little resistance for Truong in the second half as he received a pass from Dee Mabry and raced past multiple defenders before scoring in the 49th minute. A minute later, Martinez and Pineda both received red cards leaving the Spartans two men down.

Truong capped his offensive outburst with an unassisted goal in the 52nd minute.

"Thanh and his brother Sy, they are so quick on the ball," Maldonado said. "It is tough for teams to handle. I'm just glad we don't have to play against it. We see it enough in practice. To prepare for that is tough."

Three more Union players received yellow cards in the second half and Rosewood's Reed Howell picked up a red card. The Spartans' Eduardo Fajardo missed high on a penalty kick in stoppage time.

Herring finished with five saves and earned the shutout in goal.