Defensive change helps Warriors blank Golden Falcons

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 7, 2014 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Eastern Wayne couldn't simulate Charles B. Aycock's speed in the offensive third of the field during practice Monday afternoon.

But the defensive-minded strategy paid off Tuesday evening.

The Warriors denied the Golden Falcons a direct scoring opportunity on frame and claimed a 3-0, senior night victory at Little Big Horn on the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference girls' soccer scene.

Cheyenne Craft and McKenna Dove, two of seven seniors honored prior to the match, and sophomore Megan Mozingo and McKenna Dove each scored for Eastern Wayne. The Warriors (9-6-0 overall, 5-6-0 ECC) earned a regular-season sweep of their archrivals for the first time since 2010.

"When we played Aycock the first time, we had real problems getting a grip on the midfield play," EW head coach Jorg Wagner said. "We were often two, three, four yards off of the pressure points where we can run at them and make defensive plays happen for us. That worked a lot, lot better for us."

Eastern Wayne constantly disrupted Aycock's offense throughout the 80-minute affair. The Warriors stepped into passing lanes and redirected balls upfield, or forced the Golden Falcons (9-7-1, 4-6-1) into turnovers -- particularly in the midfield.

Aycock led 11-9 in shots, but only one was taken by its leading scorer -- Alex Strickland. The senior, who has signed with Cape Fear Community College, had work around either two or three defenders just to gain possession of the ball.

The Golden Falcons offered no support for their striker.

"Eastern Wayne pressed us all over the place," CBA head coach Byron Adkins said. "We didn't do anything offensively and defensively, we fell apart on two or three set plays. With a team like that, they're going to punish you like that (on set plays).

"You saw the difference in the focus they had and the focus we had tonight. (Eastern Wayne) was a team looking forward to the playoffs and a team, right here, saying we've (Aycock) got two games left (in the season)."

Craft broke the scoreless tie in the 30th minute on a low-scoring shot toward the back post. Teammate Kristina Muses drew the attention of Aycock keeper Sarina Lancaster (two saves), which gave Craft just enough room to find the back of the net.

The Warriors led 1-0 at halftime and the seniors -- Craft, Dove, keeper Erica Duke, Carol Cruz, Alexis Davis, Kaitlyn Talarida and Julie-Ann Pierce -- reminded their teammates to start the second half with intensity.

Five-plus minutes later, Eastern Wayne led 3-0.

Mozingo's beautiful one-touch strike snuck in between Lancaster and the near post. Dove's one-touch shot inside the 18 off of Craft's assist completed the scoring at the 45-minute, 39-second mark.

Duke kept the sheet clean with eight saves and collected her seventh shutout of the season.

"The second and third goals were crucial for the win tonight," Wagner said. "It makes a huge difference when you have to come back from three (goals down) and realize 'hey, this might not be our night' and the other team is motivated on senior night, obviously.

"It worked out real well for us."

Eastern Wayne won its fourth straight meeting over Aycock and holds a 17-9-2 advantage in the series since 2004.