CBA clinches 3A soccer playoff berth

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on October 22, 2013 1:49 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Before Charles B. Aycock honored its seniors at halftime, it opened some breathing room against county archrival Eastern Wayne on Monday evening.

The Golden Falcons scored four first-half goals on their way to a 6-2 win in an Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference boys' soccer game at Hardy Talton Stadium.

Aycock used passes from the midfield and the speed of its attacking forwards to pressure the Warriors' defense early. Collin Zacharzuk gave the Golden Falcons a 1-0 lead off of Juninho Sanchez's assist in the 6th minute.

Aycock (8-8-1 overall, 5-6-1 ECC) continued to successfully navigate through Eastern Wayne's offside trap defense. Chris Grieve received Dominic Albano's pass and beat multiple defenders down the far sideline before firing a shot past Warriors' keeper Alex Sandavol to make it 2-0.

"We started off really fast for a change and scored four quick goals," Aycock assistant coach Byron Adkins said. "It was really good to start fast tonight. Our midfield played the ball well to Collin and Chris, and they were able to score and I was pleased with that."

Sandavol attempted to clear the ball out of the 18-yard box in the 26th minute only to have the ball wind up at Zacharzuk's feet. Zacharzuk tucked a shot into the back of the net as the margin grew to 3-0.

Moments later, Tim Naughton extended the Golden Falcons' advantage to 4-0.

The Warriors (4-11-0, 1-10-0) got a goal back in the 35th minute as Joe Herlihy won a loose ball inside the 18-yard box and sent a shot past Aycock keeper Alex Burke.

"With our offensive output we cannot go anywhere and spot the opponent four goals," Eastern Wayne head coach Jorg Wagner said. "In the first 20 minutes we had really terrible communication and play in our central defense. We had to make some changes in our defense, but that still shouldn't happen."

The Warriors continued their offensive push early in the second half and pulled to within 4-2 in the 56th minute as Willie Smith collected a loose ball in front of the goal and slipped it past Burke.

The Golden Falcons regained their offensive intensity midway through the second half. Chris Smith scored off Zacharzuk's assist on a corner kick in the 63rd minute. Collin Grieve capped the scoring in the 79th minute.

The victory assured Aycock of a berth in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A state playoffs which begin Oct. 30. Eastern Wayne concludes regular-season play at home Wednesday against Southern Wayne.