Saints' late goal eliminates Golden Falcons from playoff contention

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on October 8, 2014 1:49 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

DUDLEY -- Charles B. Aycock needed this win.

For 74 minutes, the win was within their grasp.

But in the blink of an eye, it was all over.

The Golden Falcons dominated possession for much of the game, but Southern Wayne took advantage of a misclear with five minutes remaining in the match. Alex Vega scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory that knocked the Golden Falcons out of playoff contention.

"As a defender you always want to head the ball rather than (wait for it to land and) kick it," CBA coach Byron Adkins said. "We didn't do that and they scored and now we're out of the playoffs. It's tough, but that's the way it goes.

"Once they scored it was over. We weren't going to score on them."

Vega moved into the forward role when Southern Wayne's leading scorer, Peterson Michel, was dismissed from the team. Since the change, the Saints have turned a recent four-game skid into a two-match win streak.

Saints head coach Mario Aguilar knew something needed to change, so he started playing with lineups in hopes of finding some kind of chemistry on the pitch.

He's getting close.

Southern Wayne, while it didn't dominate possession during any point of the match, communicated well and had strong defending when Aycock attacked the goal.

"(The chemistry) it's getting better," Aguilar said. "We're starting to play together and realize that if we play as a team we can win, but if we play our own way we lose."

Aycock struggled to generate shots, despite controlling the ball for much of the match. They put four shots on goal, but none caused Saints keeper Juan Trejo any trouble. Aycock's best chance came on a free kick in the waning moments that Dallen Edwards put near the frame, but in a scrum of players the ball was headed wide.

Southern Wayne' best chances before the decisive goal came on two free kicks from Obens Tilus that hit off the crossbar. But minutes after Tilus' second ball hit the crossbar, Vega sealed the Golden Falcons' fate.

"That felt good," Vega said. "It's a big win for us that we needed."

Southern Wayne (9-4-2 overall) faces Eastern Wayne for the league's No. 1 seed for the postseason on Oct. 22. The Warriors won the first meeting, 6-2.