Spartans blow past Woodlawn
BY LOGAN ULRICH
SPORTS EDITOR HENDERSON DISPATCH
If there ever was any doubt about the Kerr-Vance Academy boys soccer team in its first game of the playoffs, it vanished after the opening 13 seconds.
Off the opening kickoff against Woodlawn on Thursday, freshman Christopher Steg pressured the ball, stole it and fired a right-footed rocket off the crossbar into the net for the game’s opening goal. The only thing Woodlawn’s players and coaches could do was laugh, as with brutal speed and precision, the Spartans extinguished any potential drama on the way to a 6-0 win.
Now, the playoffs really begin.
“To be honest, not that we were belittling this team, but we were looking beyond so to speak,” said head coach Devon Honeywell. “We’re trying to prepare for the bigger test which is Saturday.”
Woodlawn (8-10) holds the distinction of being the first school to fall victim to the Kerr-Vance (18-1-2) blitzkrieg after losing 6-1 in the two teams’ other matchup in the first game of the season, but it isn’t the only one. The fifth-seeded Spartans lost only one game — a 7-3 loss in the season finale at Ravenscroft — and scored 106 goals during a 21-game regular season.
But now the Spartans face possibly their biggest challenge of the season on the road against fourth-seeded Wayne Country Day, which has a 16-3 record. And while Honeywell is confident in his team’s devastating offensive attack can continue its effectiveness, he doesn’t have the same belief in his defense.
“There’s still some issues there for me, and hopefully we can try and figure it out,” he said. “It’s not major, it’s minor, but it can cost us against better teams.”
Even as the Spartans dominated Woodlawn, led by Steg and senior Rafael Negron who each finished with a pair of goals, some chinks showed in their armor. Kerr-Vance’s best defense has been its offense all season. Honeywell has his forwards and midfielders play aggressively to try and pressure the ball and keep opponents on the defensive. Thursday’s game was a showcase of that philosophy.
After Steg’s opening salvo, he added an assist by dribbling around another defender— bringing his body count up to who knows how many on the season — and rifling apass in to Luke Frazier who buried the goal. Negron joined in a few minutes later, settling a cross from Joseph Knott and fi ring it into the net.
To finish out the half, Steg poked a breakaway pass that was just a little long away from the keeper and into the net for a 4-0 halftime lead. Then to start the second frame, midfielder Jack Cheever dribbled a ball unopposed to the top of the box and made good on his chance with a goal into the left corner of the net. Negron rounded out the scoring with a volley off a cross past the keeper.
Woodlawn was never able to build any attacking rhythm, but there were a few moments where Honeywell saw opportunities a better team would have taken advantage of. Because the offense and midfield spend so much time controlling the ball, the Spartan back line can get caught fl at-footed or unfocused.
For most of the season, that hasn’t hurt them. But in the next two games, the semifinal and championship, Kerr-Vance won’t be playing teams that will let them get away with it. While the offense is built to come from behind, starting out a game the way Woodlawn did is not ideal.
“We can always get goals, but we want to try and keep it out as well,” Honeywell said. The past couple seasons, this phase of the season has been a stumbling block for Kerr-Vance. The Spartans have often been caught off guard by the caliber of opponents deep in the playoffs, as they find it more difficult to break down teams with more club players. Steg is the only club player on the Spartans roster, but just about every other starter is a senior. That experience pays off on the offensive end, as Kerr-Vance has shown an ability to move the ball and string together
passing combinations to beat defenses. They’re confident they can do the same on Saturday. They just need their defense to keep up
