Varsity boys soccer players from Community Christian School and Christ Covenant of Winterville huffed and puffed mile after mile in pursuit of one measly goal in Thursday night’s Mid-Atlantic Christian Athletic Association 2-A North Division encounter on the Community Christian pitch Thursday.
On a comfortable last night of summer, Christ Covenant’s Prem Copeland, a seventh grader, netted that measly goal with six minutes, 15 seconds left in the first half to enable the Spartans to register a second one-goal win against CCS this season. Eighth-grader Dylan Cook assisted the 1-0 verdict.
The goal was arguably overshadowed by a hard-to-believe, spectacular duel between speedy junior Cyclones scoring threat Connor Ferguson and 6-foot-3, junior Christ Covenant goalkeeper JD Dill in the last 15 minutes. Ferguson fired four shots against Dill and his weary defense, and Dill, in posting his first shutout, responded with three scintillating saves.
Thus, the Spartans of head coach Joel Grimm escaped 3-0 in the division and 5-3 overall, while head coach Christian Bullard’s Cyclones stumbled to 2-4 and 4-4, respectively. The Cyclones will battle ALA Johnston at home Monday.
“It’s been the same thing the last few games,” said Bullard in the midst of his dejected players. “We can’t put the ball into the back of the net. I’m disappointed in the loss. It was one of the best games we have played – especially the last 20 minutes. We beat them in every aspect except the scoreboard. The effort was definitely there.”
Observed Grimm: “The match was well-fought; both teams wanted it. At the end, because of their through balls, we were definitely getting a little tired. But a win is a win, and we’ll take it.”
On the goal, the Cyclones’ 5-foot, sixth-grade keeper Josh Varnell flirted with a dandy save. Copeland’s shot glanced off the lunging Varnell, and rolled a few feet past him and into the goal.
“We need him,” Bullard said of the youngster. “He’s a baseball player, and we got him to play in goal because nobody else wants to. He does an OK job.”
How about the Ferguson-Dill theatrics?
The Cyclones’ opportunities were created on through balls from eighth-grader Ethan
Barnes to Ferguson, who had been situated up top because of his speed.
Of his first shot, Ferguson said: “I was running toward the goal and tried to shoot it. He (Dill) just reached back and stopped it.”
Said Dill: “(Ferguson) was running and getting close shots around the 18. They were strong shots, but toward me. That made my job easier.”
Of the second shot, Ferguson said, “I played a through ball, ran and tried to put it in the bottom right corner. (Dill) got on it and saved it with his right hand. That was a great save.”
Dill responded: “Another close shot; (Ferguson) was definitely putting pressure on me. I definitely had to read and guess from where he was going to shoot it. I got my hand out – and saved it. That was probably my best save of the three.
Of his third shot, Ferguson commented,: “I was running and had two defenders on my back. I was tripped (no call). I took the shot and (Dill) hit it with his right hand (and made the save).”
Dill countered: “(Ferguson) was being pressured really hard by our defender (senior Ezra Kalich). He still got the shot off – it was definitely a tough shot. It was about six yards from me. Before he shot it, I was a little worried. But once he took it, I knew I had the save.”
“He’s a great kid,” Grimm said of Dill. “He’s a middle defender, but he knew we needed a goalie, and he said he would be able to do it at least this year. He’s got a niche for it.”
“(Community Christian) had great through passes and that was leaving through balls,” commented Dill, who notched seven saves.
With his final attempt sailing far over the goal, Ferguson was certainly entitled to believe he was “just unlucky.” He definitely considered the Cyclones unlucky on the Spartans’ goal.
“(The defense) got too close and they wound up with a 1 on 1 vs. our goalie, Ferguson explained.
Otherwise, the teams were about even in shots each half. For the Spartans the first half, eighth-grader Caleb Cornett blistered a shot off the crossbar. With nine minutes showing, the Cyclones’ Ashton Bradshaw, a sixth-grader, hammered a shot that forced a quick-reaction save from Dill.
In the second half, Cyclones’ junior Camden Harold stopped a goal-bound Spartans’ run. But Ferguson’s four shots stole the night. The Cyclones’ Pierce Stone, a freshman, got off a shot with 4:10 remaining.
Cornett and senior Ashton Zeigler, the leading scorer, orchestrated the Covenant Christian offense, and Grimm commended the defensive effort of Kalich, junior Christian Grant and Cook.
Defensively for the Cyclones, Varnell and Harold were joined by sixth-grader Sammy Dean with stout performances.
Christ Covenant won the first meeting, 3-2, but Ferguson didn’t consider the teams evenly matched in the rematch. Bullard pointed out Community Christian was victimized by the Spartans’ smaller pitch in the first meeting, and fell behind 3-0.
“We just couldn’t get the ball into the back of the net,” Bullard repeated.
Continued the Cyclones’ head coach: “”We don’t have any doggies. We are very young and I call them puppies. But give us 3-4 years, we’re not going to be puppies.”