STORY: Saints slip past Warriors

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on October 25, 2016 9:59 AM

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Survival of the fittest?

Perhaps survival of the most physical.

Southern Wayne High, bent on making its final four matches of the season equal a playoff berth, employed that philosophy Monday night to muscle its way past ECC 3-A/4-A and county rival Eastern Wayne, 2-1, in a physically taxing, spirited tilt at New Hope.

And there were plenty of bruises to go around.

The Warriors opened matters cleanly, getting organized with one-touch pace and consistently attacking Southern's half of the pitch. In the sixth minute, their handiwork paid dividends, when a surface-to-air throw in by sophomore Joshua Gross was headed into the net by Alfrado Cabrera.

Eastern Wayne 1, Southern Wayne 0 on a mission.

From that point forward, nary a ball was played that didn't appear to have a MASH unit awaiting its destination. With alarming regularity, players from both sides collided and spilled to the turf.

In the 21st minute, the blossoming rumble paused after an Eastern Wayne takedown in the box resulted in a penalty kick for the Saints. Midfielder Alex Roblero, who figured prominently throughout the match, artfully played a winner past the outstretched gloves of Bryan Morales.

If anything, the PK solidified a dreaded scenario for EW head coach Scott Summers.

"We're up 1-0," the coach said, "(and) that just kills the mentality... anywhere around the box, just keep them in front of you -- don't foul. Don't have to go into

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the body there."

Both teams marched toward the break with determined speed, and ended in manic fashion as Eastern Wayne saw two on-goal opportunities disappear in a hail of red-and-blue deflections over the final 60 seconds.

At half, the match was tied 1-all.

The second stanza played out in a back-and-forth, temperamental stalemate until the 60th minute, when Southern punched a one-timer through dense goal-box traffic and a diving Morales to make the score 2-1.

Eastern Wayne never relented, however, and scrapped for every ball with abandon. Its last feasible scoring opportunity passed in the 76th minute, when senior Christian Anderson's right-footed rocket from 25 yards was collected in front of goal by Southern Wayne.

The Saints then milked the clock's remainder with deft touch, passing ably, playing keep-away and sprinting down any last-ditch effort cultivated by the Warriors.

Post-match, Southern's huddle was a lively outfit, and one very much looking forward to its match this evening with yet another county foe, Charles B. Aycock.

"If we want to go to the playoffs," SW coach Mario Aguilar said, "we couldn't get down... this was a game we had to win."

The victory moved the Saints to 4-7-4 overall, and 2-5-2 in ECC play. Eastern Wayne, who next plays host to Charles B. Aycock on Wednesday, fell to 4-13-3 overall and 1-7-2 in league matters.