DOBSON — Surry Central and Forbush’s boys soccer teams almost always put on a show when they meet.
The programs constantly ranked among the Western Piedmont 2A Conference’s top teams, and are traditionally close in skill level. In the past 17 meetings dating back to the 2012 season, the result of a Central-Forbush match has only been decided by more than one goal on five occasions.
This year’s teams competed twice in the span of five days: the first in East Bend on Feb. 25 and the second in Dobson on March 1. Each match went to two overtimes, combining for more than three hours of game time between the Golden Eagles and Falcons.
Despite the hours spent against one another on the field, neither match yielded a winner. Instead, both matches ended in a 1-1 tie.
Former Surry Central coach Blake Roth reported this is the first time ever that both regular season meetings between Central and Forbush ended in a tie.
Surry Central struck first in Monday’s match with a goal in the 16th minute.
The Eagles put the ball into play on a throw in near Forbush’s bench. Daniel Juarez advanced up the right sideline and crossed to an open Christopher Nava cutting in the 18-yard box. Nava one-touched a shot inside the near post to give the Eagles a 1-0 advantage.
Forbush nearly evened the score mere seconds after the ensuing kickoff. Forward Juan Ramirez made his way into Central’s third within 20 seconds of the restart. Ramirez put a shot on frame, but it was saved by Golden Eagle keeper Johnny Garcia.
Ramirez and Ryan Zachary put pressure on the Eagles’ back line all night. The speedy strikers could create space on their own or take passes from Aldo Mendez and Sergio Sesmas in the midfield.
Zachary made his way behind the defense with just over a minute left in the half. He chased down an overhead pass from Sesmas with just Garcia to beat. Garcia left his line to challenge the shot, which Zachary sent over the crossbar for a goal kick.
Central had an opportunity to extend the lead in the early minutes of the second half thanks to a free kick from Eli Gonzalez. The sophomore defender put a free kick into the box, where Juarez flicked it at the goal where it was saved by the keeper.
Apart from Juarez’s header, Forbush controlled possession early in the second half. Both Zachary and Sesmas put shots on target before Ramirez scored the equalizer off a set piece in the 52nd minute.
Sesmas barely rolled the ball forward on a free kick in Central territory. Central’s wall charged after the initial touch, thinking a Falcon shot would soon follow, but instead a short pass was made to a wide open Sesmas.
Sesmas placed a high shot on target that was just barely saved by Garcia. The keeper connected with the tip of his gloves as he was falling back into the net. Ramirez took this opportunity to clean up the rebound, tying the game at 1-1.
Both squads had opportunities to score the game-winning goal before the end of regulation.
Central’s Angel Diaz created shots off deep free kicks, but none found the back of the net. Forbush’s Axel Garcia played a through-ball to Zachary on a counterattack that put the latter one-on-one with Garcia, but an offside call derailed his chances.
Forbush shot seven times during the overtime periods to Central’s three. The closest the Falcons got to scoring was when Axel Garcia hit the crossbar in the first 30 seconds of the second overtime. Central’s Johnny Garcia quickly dove on the ball to prevent a repeat of the first goal.
Diaz and Gonzalez each put shots on frame for the Eagles in OT, but each was saved.
The pair of ties could have major playoff implications for both squads.
North Forsyth, ranked No. 6 in the MaxPreps 2A division poll, leads the conference with a 6-0 record. No team has scored on North Forsyth this season.
Surry Central sits in second place as the only other WPAC team without a loss. However, the Eagles have three ties in conference play: two against Forbush (3-1-2) and one against West Stokes.
North Forsyth still has to play Surry Central twice and Forbush and West Stokes once.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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