PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry outlasted Surry Central in a 1-0 war of attrition on Thursday.
The home Lady Cards and visiting Golden Eagles went scoreless for 71 minutes in the Foothills 2A Conference match, with each having opportunities to find the back of the net throughout.
A deflected East Surry shot in the final 10 minutes of the second half was cleared by Central, seemingly erasing the current threat. However, Cardinal senior Samantha Blose intercepted the clearance at the top of the 18-yard box and dealt the decisive blow.
“Every person that stepped on the field tonight contributed,” said East Surry coach William Hart. “I’m really proud of the girls for fighting all game long in a tough conference battle. They stuck with it for 80 minutes and came out on top against a talented Surry Central squad.”
Despite the loss, Surry Central coach Adan Garcia felt his team played one of its strongest matches of the season.
“That’s one of those games that could’ve easily gone either way,” Garcia said. “We held them as long as we could defensively, they just created that opportunity late and converted. The loss is unfortunate especially for our keeper, Fernanda Camacho, because she played such a great game and made a lot of crucial saves.
“East Surry is a good team and they made a good shot. My girls have nothing to be ashamed of.”
The goal-scoring drive, like most of the Cardinals’ offensive maneuvers in Thursday’s game, saw the team progress up the sidelines. East Surry was already pressed into Central’s half when Shirin Binder sent a through ball to Addison Goins in the corner. Goins cut into the 18 before firing a shot that was deflected down by Camacho.
Golden Eagle Anahi Duran swooped in to clear the deflection while the goal was unguarded. Blose was there to cut the clear off, then fired a shot to the far post.
“That entire run started with Shirin,” Hart said. “We kept telling the girls to stay the course and good things would happen against that strong back line, and we eventually got our shot.”
Persistence was key for the Cardinals. East Surry spent a lot of the first half on Central’s half, but the Eagles’ defense held the Cards to distant shots. Golden Eagle sweeper Lillian Orozco was the last line of defense for the visitors and saved multiple one-on-one opportunities.
Many of East’s shots never made it past Central’s back line as they retreated back to the box. Blose and Morgan Bryant each made runs up the left sideline early in the first half that were stopped before they reached the goal, and Goins’ runs led to a series of corner kicks that were booted from the danger zone.
Bryant and Liannette Chavez combined to take six corners for East in the first alone, including two in the final four minutes of the first half, yet the score remained 0-0 going into halftime.
The Golden Eagles’ offense controlled the pace of the game for much of the second half. Midfielder Yuri Ramirez distributed to the forwards, while also passing back to the defense and resetting when the situation called for it.
The first foul of the game wasn’t called until the 49th minute. Ramirez used the subsequent free kick to fire a shot on goal from 35 yards out, but it was saved by Cardinal keeper Katie Collins. Dafne Salgado-Perez picked up a steal in East’s defensive third a few minutes later and put a shot on target, but it too was saved by Collins.
Within 60 seconds of Salgado-Perez’s shot, Central’s Wendy Cantor placed a shot on goal from the middle of the field. This too was wrapped up by Collins, who finished the night with seven saves.
The Cardinals’ offense was rejuvenated once the game entered its final 12 minutes. Chavez and Goins operated up the right sideline on an attack, and Goins’ attempt on the goal – which was just East’s second shot of the second half – was deflected out for a corner kick. Chavez’s corner soared across the six-yard box and was nearly poked in by Bryant at the far post.
East Surry’s third shot was the charm when Blose scored with 9:30 on the clock. Central’s Orozco, who spent much of the second half pushed up on offense while Cantor moved to sweeper, put a shot on goal less than a minute after the goal but it was saved by Collins.
East spent the final few minutes of the game pressed up in Central’s half to hold on for the win.
The Cardinals (8-5-2) have won four of their past five matches, with their only loss in that time coming against one of the top-ranked teams in the state, Wilkes Central. All four wins have been shutouts, giving Collins a total of six for the season.
The Golden Eagles (5-9-3) came into April riding a three-match winning streak, but have dropped their past four matches. With the exception of a game at Wilkes Central, Surry Central has been competitive in each of those matches: a 2-1 overtime loss to West Wilkes, a 3-1 loss at Forbush and the 1-0 game against East Surry.
“West Wilkes was like the East Surry game where we were close the entire time, but just came up short in the end,” Garcia said. “The Forbush game was huge because we were tied with them at halftime. Forbush is a very talented team and one of the best in the 2A division, and that’s one of the most difficult places to play.
“In the end it sucks to lose, but we are going out there and competing with great teams. Where we are now is night-and-day compared to where we started the season, and I know good things are coming our way if we keep working.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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