Saints in command in 3A portion of ECC

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on October 2, 2013 1:46 PM

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DUDLEY -- Southern Wayne is in the driver's seat among the 3-A schools in the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference.

Eastern Wayne finds itself in a hole.

The Saints scored three goals in five minutes and defeated the Warriors 4-0 on Tuesday night at the Doyle Whitfield Athletic Complex.

The win kept Southern Wayne (6-3-1 overall, 3-2-1 ECC) in first place among the ECC's three 3-A schools. Eastern Wayne (4-6-0, 1-5-0) is third among the conference's 3-A teams.

"I told our guys before the game that this was an important match," Southern Wayne head coach Mario Aguilar said. "I feel like if we keep working hard this team can go to the playoffs. I told our guys not to trust what they've done so far but to keep improving everyday."

Both teams failed to capitalize on early scoring opportunities.

The Saints' Alfonso Ortiz was all alone with Warriors' keeper Alex Sandavol in the 11th minute but his shot missed high.

Southern Wayne keeper Michel Peterson made a diving save on Deonte Davis' shot in the 19th minute. Peterson turned in another diving save on Ethan Zadrozny's free kick in the 21st minute.

"We didn't even have many half-chances," Eastern Wayne head coach Jorg Wagner said. "They were almost like three-quarter chances, things that should go on frame if we show more determination. We didn't take a risk and we didn't try our luck with enough determination."

Desir Deufort found the back of the net off of Billy Gonzalez's assist in the 31st minute. Three minutes later, Ulysses Ramirez lofted a shot over Sandavol's head and into the goal.

Jose Rodriguez capped the five-minute offensive outburst with a goal off Alfonso Ortiz's assist in the 36th minute to give the Saints a 3-0 lead.

"We had one break down with the (defensive) line not bringing the pressure properly," Wagner said. "That led to a bit of a breakdown for the whole squad and before you know it the game's out of hand."

Ramirez capped Southern Wayne's scoring in the 64th minute.

Each team finished with 10 shots on goal.

The Warriors play host to South Central on Thursday. Southern Wayne entertains Charles B. Aycock on Oct. 8.