PREP SOCCER: County teams engage in scrimmage at EW

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 12, 2018 3:11 AM

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By RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

Good success.

And with no practice.

Eastern Wayne executed a new defensive alignment with near precision and claimed a pair of shutouts during its annual preseason boys' soccer jamboree on Friday evening.

Instead of working with their normal four midfielders, the Warriors added a fifth midfielder who dropped back and defended on the weak side of the pitch.

The results?

EW filed clean sheets against Rosewood (1-0) and Goldsboro (2-0). The defense permitted just six shots on goal.

"These boys were incredibly quick to take that on," said former EW head coach Jorg Wagner, who filled in for current head coach Scottie Summers.

"It's not something that is very easy to learn and they did very well."

Freshman Andrew Sherman tallied all three Warrior goals.

The Eastern Wayne-Goldsboro affair capped a 4½-hour, six-game session that included Charles B. Aycock, Rosewood, Southern Wayne and Spring Creek. Aycock and Southern Wayne each departed New Hope with a 2-0 record.

A preseason favorite in the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference race, the Golden Falcons got offensive production from Zach Naughton and David McIver.

Naughton connected on a one-touch laser off of Oscar Carcomo's throw-in during the fifth minute against Spring Creek. The sophomore provided his second goal, a low strike to the near post from Coe Jordan against Rosewood.

McIver converted a penalty kick against the Eagles.

"Good to finally get on the field after two weeks and play an opponent other than ourselves," CBA head coach Cory Worrell said. "[We] saw some really good things and things that we need to work on. [We have a] long season ahead of us and we are looking forward to it."

Rosewood find itself in a rebuilding year.

Junior captain Hayden Maldonado and Gio Abril return from a year ago. The duo is expected to provide leadership for the Eagles, who are coming off of a 12-win season that included a playoff appearance.

"It's good to play other teams to measure yourself," RHS head coach Eddie Maldonado said. "Playing C.B. Aycock is always good because of the talent they have and the level they play at. It shows our boys that they need to and can play better.

"It allows us to see where we would like to be. We are really excited for this upcoming season and playing two teams like Eastern Wayne and C.B. Aycock is going to help us going forward."

Southern Wayne displayed the best offensive fireworks of the night.

The Saints notched three goals -- one each from Oscar Ramirez, Wilber Benitez and Juan Rivera -- within an eight-minute stretch against Goldsboro. Wildrens Doliscar punched in two goals and Andre Clifford added one goal in a 3-0 conquest of Spring Creek.

Doliscar also supplied an assist.

"We were looking to play together, see what our chemistry was like," SW head coach Mario Aguilar said. "We changed our drills to give us more speed and they worked. The players didn't like, but they see it worked."

Aguilar's club competed in the day-long Sampson County Jamboree on Saturday. The Saints faced Union, James Kenan and Midway.

Jameel Thomas delivered Goldsboro's lone goal in the 26th minute against Southern Wayne.

The Cougars return 10 players from a year ago, which gives new head coach Brian Hancock a solid nucleus to develop his team heading into its second year in the East Central 2-A Conference.

"I wanted to see where the pieces fit, who plays where and who fits well where," Hancock said. "It's new system than these guys are accustomed to. More than anything, we were looking to have a chance to pass the ball around, let everybody play.

"I thought they did great."

Hancock noted one of the Cougars' strengths may be their ability to pass the ball well.

Spring Creek is unaccustomed to shutouts.

And the Gators will get second chances against both the Saints and Golden Falcons. The teams are scheduled to play a home-and-away series this fall.

The coaching staff was glad to see the team work in a game-like atmosphere. The group has been fine-tuning its attack since mid-winter and appears to believe in the system.