PREP BOYS' SOCCER: Rosewood notches first win of the season

By Aviel Smolka
Published in Sports on August 22, 2018 5:51 AM

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Something had to give.

Going into Tuesday night's boys' soccer game both Goldsboro and Rosewood were 0-2.

In a tense, tough game that could have gone either way, Rosewood pulled out a 1-0 victory at Cougar Stadium.

Senior Noah Bates scored the game-winning goal in the 67th minute, using amazing touch to flick the ball over Noah Gonzalez's head.

"Neither of us really created any good chances to score," Rosewood head coach Eddie Maldonado said. "We just had a half chance that we took advantage of."

During the back-and-forth first half, the Eagles and Cougars had multiple shots on goal that were either stopped by the goalies or went wide of the net.

Each team played suffocating defense and didn't allow any open space for strikers.

"Everyone played really hard tonight," Maldonado said. "It was a clean, hard-played game tonight."

Even though Rosewood won, Maldonado saw many things the Eagles need to improve.

"We're just not there yet," Maldonado said. "We can run, we're athletic, we're physical but it's the soccer knowledge that we're working on. But we're continuing to work so we can get better."

Goldsboro's best chance to score came in the 68th minute. Daniel Williamson hit a beautiful free kick that sailed just over the net.

Despite the loss, Goldsboro head coach Bryan Hancock was proud of his team and feels they are making progress on the soccer pitch.

"We passed the ball extremely well," Hancock said. "We felt like we took control of the game, we just couldn't get ball in the goal. But it's still a big step forward for us."

The Eagles (1-2-0 overall) continue play Friday at home against Eastern Wayne. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at Branch Pope Field.

Goldsboro (0-3-0 overall) travels to North Johnston next Monday. Kickoff is 7 p.m.