GIRLS' SOCCER: Chargers claim CPIC tournament title

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 6, 2017 11:20 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

WILSON -- Tied at 0-0 through 40 minutes of play, Wayne Country Day needed to create a goal-scoring chance.

It happened six minutes after the break.

The Chargers executed a corner kick that sailed into the box and touched a Community Christian player.

The whistle blew.

The ref called the Cyclones for a handball in the box.

Penalty kick awarded to WCDS.

As ice water flowed through her veins, Langley Barnes positioned the ball. She stepped back, heard the whistle and seconds later watched her right-footed shot settle into the net near the back post.

"I knew where I was going to go with it," Barnes said. "I knew it was an opportunity that we couldn't let slide because we hadn't had a ton of opportunities (to score). I put that away."

Barnes added a second goal later in the half, and Wayne Country Day emerged as the Coastal Plains Independent 1-A Conference girls' soccer tournament champion with a 2-1 decision over Community Christian on a seasonably cool Friday evening.

The teams split their season series.

Playing on a rain-soaked pitch, the top-seeded Cyclones (6-7-1 overall) manufactured chances throughout the opening half. But they had to work without their top scorer Morgan Lane, who was shadowed by WCDS defender Jasmine Jones all evening.

Jones didn't budge an inch defensively.

And Lane didn't get a sniff at the net.

"Jasmine was fantastic tonight...a big defensive performance (and) gave a 100-percent work ethic the whole time," Chargers head coach Steve Ellis said.

Jones, Jennifer Potts, sophomore Kendall Myers spearheaded a defensive unit that turned in its strongest performance of the season. The Chargers kept the Cyclones off the board until the final minute.

"Our defensive line was amazing," Barnes said.

Up 1-0 and the clock ticking away precious time, the Chargers drew a foul outside the 18-yard box. Ashton Gupton started to attempt the free kick, but Barnes asked Gupton to give up the ball so she could get some breathing room from a Cyclone defender.

Barnes ripped the free kick, which bounced off the post and into the net past Community Christian's keeper.

Another chance.

A critical goal.

"She's confident where she's going to go...knows the angles she needs to take in order to get a strike on target," Ellis said. "She's constantly putting in the work, which is a benefit to us."

When the final horn sounded, the Chargers stormed the field, grabbed the championship trophy and held it high in the darkened sky.

Jones, Potts, Gupton, Kathryn Hamilton, Willman and Barnes each earned a nod on the all-CPIC tournament team. Willman, Gupton, Jala Holloman and Hayden Nielsen each grabbed a spot on the all-CPIC team from regular-season play.

Barnes received CPIC player-of-the-year accolades.

"I work really hard during the school season and during the travel season," Barnes said. "To be recognized, it feels pretty good, but I couldn't have done it without my team. They're great."

Ellis garnered CPIC coach-of-the-year recognition.

Wayne Country Day (11-3-1 overall) will learn its position in the N.C. Independent Athletic Association playoffs when the 16-team field is released later today.