BOYS' SOCCER: D.H. Conley turns back Eastern Wayne

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on September 28, 2016 9:59 AM

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Eastern Wayne's varsity soccer team, for the second time in 24 hours, squared off versus a Pitt County member of the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference on Tuesday evening, falling 2-0 to D.H. Conley at New Hope.

And from the opening touch, it was apparent the Warriors' jam-packed schedule would have a significant impact on the outcome.

Conley (7-1-2 overall, 3-0-1 ECC) forced the issue early and often, marking Warrior centerpiece Christian Anderson at every turn and playing one-touch efforts through a rotating, amoeba-like Eastern Wayne shape.

It worked.

A blue-and-gold foul in the box during the 17th minute afforded Conley a penalty-kick showdown with Warriors goalie Daniel Stevens. The Vikings' Lucas Wiley responded with aplomb, drifting a one-timer by the sophomore for a 1-0 Conley lead.

The miscue in the penalty area didn't come as a surprise to Eastern Wayne head coach Scott Summers, whose club appeared taxed in the aftermath of its hard-fought, 1-0 triumph over J.H. Rose on Monday.

"That was a foul, yes... but we have to contain and not foul around the box," he said. "Tough game... but we fought hard."

Following intermission, Conley stepped up its pace, forming attacks quickly at midfield courtesy of sophomore Zach Tucker. In total, the Vikings launched three attempts on goal in the stanza's opening seven minutes.

Stevens, however, was up to the task.

The rangy keeper displayed a variety of net-minding tricks, fighting his way through dense Viking traffic in front of goal to produce clutch save upon clutch save -- nine, in fact, for the evening.

It was an effort lauded by his coach.

"He's come alive, been solid," Summers noted. "He made a ton of saves back there. We're proud of him."

But no man is an island.

A defense-for-offense shift by Eastern Wayne in the final 10 minutes -- designed to free Anderson for a match-tying goal -- allowed Conley senior Jaxon Wiley enough room to send a dizzying header by the outstretched gloves of Stevens in the 77th minute, a blast that all but secured the outcome.

Vikings 2, Warriors spent.

EW, now 4-8-2 overall and 1-2-1 in conference play, will complete its trilogy on Thursday, when it travels to Dudley for a matchup with county rival Southern Wayne.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.