Trojans push past Cougars 5-0
• By MICHAEL LINDSAY ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Wesleyan Christian steadily took control against rival High Point Christian.
The Trojans scored all of the match’s goals during the middle 40 minutes to beat the Cougars 5-0 in boys soccer Friday evening in front of a sizable crowd at the High Point Athletic Complex’s Correll-Morris Field.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” Wesleyan coach Scott Reitnour said. “We endured some adversity and we persevered through it collectively. Now, stylistically, we’re playing the way our staff expects our teams to play. …
“High Point Christian presented problems, especially defensively, and they were just really hard to break down. For our guys to come into a match like this one after playing last night and play how we did, I’m proud of the guys.”
Riley Parks had two goals and one assist to lead the Trojans (10-2-1), ranked No. 55 nationally, No. 10 in the state overall and No. 4 among NCISAA 4A teams. Zack Andersen added a goal and an assist while Carter Glover had two assists.
Sean Jacobs and Trevor Howard each had one goal, while Patrick Hissim had an assist as Wesleyan pushed its unbeaten streak to eight matches since falling to Southwest Guilford in the Triad Cup championship.
“Obviously we played well,” said Parks, a senior. “It’s always good playing High Point Christian, because we’re local and we have the fans and all that. And it’s good to get the (reserves) out there. We put a couple chances away early, and we got the boys on the field who deserve to play.
“They work hard in practice week in and week out. A lot of times we have tight games and we aren’t able to get everyone on. So, to have an opportunity like this in front of our fans and luckily we were able to get all of our boys on is always fun to play.”
The teams were scoreless through the opening 20 minutes, as Wesleyan played its style of possessing and passing on offense but HPCA was able to shut down early opportunities on defense.
The Trojans broke through in the 23rd minute when Jacobs received a long, arcing pass and chipped a shot past the goalkeeper. They added another score in the 38th minute when Howard stuffed a near-post shot past the defense.
In the second half, leading 2-0 at halftime, Wesleyan added scores in the 45th minute on a ball to Parks in the middle, in the 50th minute after the ball deflected to Andersen in the middle, and in the 53rd minute on a volley by Parks.
“It’s great,” Parks said. “We spent countless hours — almost the entire summer — where day in and day out we’re working for each other on the field. So, training is one thing, but to come out here and do it in front of our fans — all the fans who came out here to watch — it’s even better to put away some shots.”
The Trojans, who played their reserves for much of the final 20 minutes, finished with an 18-7 advantage in shots. Seeming to find its stride, Wesleyan will next host Atkins on Tuesday before visiting Carmel Christian on Thursday.
“We just had some adversity,” Reitnour said of his team’s early-season play. “We didn’t have our first 11, and we were missing three and four kids per match. So it was really difficult early for the guys to play together and jell together, and I feel like we’ve weathered that storm.
“And that’s a testament to the mentality of the group. Their mindset has been: ‘Let’s stay resolved. Let’s not capitulate to the adverse circumstances we inherited. Let’s keep going.’ Now that we’re healthy and everyone’s back, I think our results are more indicative of where we hope to be.”
On the other side, the Cougars (3-8) were overmatched against one of the area’s perennial powerhouses — but not terribly. They had stretches of solid defense and a few chances on offense as they prepare for conference play.
“I think we did some good things,” said HPCA coach Austin Beck, who played at Wesleyan. “The guys bought into what we were doing, and we made it pretty difficult for them for a while. We walked into halftime down 2-0 and we really felt like it wasn’t that much.
“I think toward the end we ran out of gas a little. But even still we were creating scoring chances — a couple cleared off the line, a couple just wide. So, I think overall I’m pleased with how the guys executed what we were trying to do game plan-wise.”
Chris Kelly (one save), Zach Davis (two saves) and John Wagner combined for the win in goal for the Trojans. Drew Kooistra made five saves in goal for the Cougars, who will visit Westchester Country Day on Tuesday to start Triad Athletic Conference play.
“It’s huge for us,” Beck said of his team’s play. “Really, we haven’t played well the last seven games, and we were really looking to put in a good performance and really just compete today. And I think we showed ourselves that we can be a good team if we compete.
“Our theme has been: Can you do your job for 80 minutes? That’s what we look for. We have a good conference — two defending state champions in it. So, we know it’s going to be a tough ride, but I look at our team and guys see that we can be competitive.
“It’s kind of a new season, kind of a reset button for us. And we were looking for a good performance today to springboard us into our conference season.”
mlindsay@hpenews.com | 336-888-3526 | @HPEmichael
• By MICHAEL LINDSAY ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Wesleyan Christian steadily took control against rival High Point Christian.
The Trojans scored all of the match’s goals during the middle 40 minutes to beat the Cougars 5-0 in boys soccer Friday evening in front of a sizable crowd at the High Point Athletic Complex’s Correll-Morris Field.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” Wesleyan coach Scott Reitnour said. “We endured some adversity and we persevered through it collectively. Now, stylistically, we’re playing the way our staff expects our teams to play. …
“High Point Christian presented problems, especially defensively, and they were just really hard to break down. For our guys to come into a match like this one after playing last night and play how we did, I’m proud of the guys.”
Riley Parks had two goals and one assist to lead the Trojans (10-2-1), ranked No. 55 nationally, No. 10 in the state overall and No. 4 among NCISAA 4A teams. Zack Andersen added a goal and an assist while Carter Glover had two assists.
Sean Jacobs and Trevor Howard each had one goal, while Patrick Hissim had an assist as Wesleyan pushed its unbeaten streak to eight matches since falling to Southwest Guilford in the Triad Cup championship.
“Obviously we played well,” said Parks, a senior. “It’s always good playing High Point Christian, because we’re local and we have the fans and all that. And it’s good to get the (reserves) out there. We put a couple chances away early, and we got the boys on the field who deserve to play.
“They work hard in practice week in and week out. A lot of times we have tight games and we aren’t able to get everyone on. So, to have an opportunity like this in front of our fans and luckily we were able to get all of our boys on is always fun to play.”
The teams were scoreless through the opening 20 minutes, as Wesleyan played its style of possessing and passing on offense but HPCA was able to shut down early opportunities on defense.
The Trojans broke through in the 23rd minute when Jacobs received a long, arcing pass and chipped a shot past the goalkeeper. They added another score in the 38th minute when Howard stuffed a near-post shot past the defense.
In the second half, leading 2-0 at halftime, Wesleyan added scores in the 45th minute on a ball to Parks in the middle, in the 50th minute after the ball deflected to Andersen in the middle, and in the 53rd minute on a volley by Parks.
“It’s great,” Parks said. “We spent countless hours — almost the entire summer — where day in and day out we’re working for each other on the field. So, training is one thing, but to come out here and do it in front of our fans — all the fans who came out here to watch — it’s even better to put away some shots.”
The Trojans, who played their reserves for much of the final 20 minutes, finished with an 18-7 advantage in shots. Seeming to find its stride, Wesleyan will next host Atkins on Tuesday before visiting Carmel Christian on Thursday.
“We just had some adversity,” Reitnour said of his team’s early-season play. “We didn’t have our first 11, and we were missing three and four kids per match. So it was really difficult early for the guys to play together and jell together, and I feel like we’ve weathered that storm.
“And that’s a testament to the mentality of the group. Their mindset has been: ‘Let’s stay resolved. Let’s not capitulate to the adverse circumstances we inherited. Let’s keep going.’ Now that we’re healthy and everyone’s back, I think our results are more indicative of where we hope to be.”
On the other side, the Cougars (3-8) were overmatched against one of the area’s perennial powerhouses — but not terribly. They had stretches of solid defense and a few chances on offense as they prepare for conference play.
“I think we did some good things,” said HPCA coach Austin Beck, who played at Wesleyan. “The guys bought into what we were doing, and we made it pretty difficult for them for a while. We walked into halftime down 2-0 and we really felt like it wasn’t that much.
“I think toward the end we ran out of gas a little. But even still we were creating scoring chances — a couple cleared off the line, a couple just wide. So, I think overall I’m pleased with how the guys executed what we were trying to do game plan-wise.”
Chris Kelly (one save), Zach Davis (two saves) and John Wagner combined for the win in goal for the Trojans. Drew Kooistra made five saves in goal for the Cougars, who will visit Westchester Country Day on Tuesday to start Triad Athletic Conference play.
“It’s huge for us,” Beck said of his team’s play. “Really, we haven’t played well the last seven games, and we were really looking to put in a good performance and really just compete today. And I think we showed ourselves that we can be a good team if we compete.
“Our theme has been: Can you do your job for 80 minutes? That’s what we look for. We have a good conference — two defending state champions in it. So, we know it’s going to be a tough ride, but I look at our team and guys see that we can be competitive.
“It’s kind of a new season, kind of a reset button for us. And we were looking for a good performance today to springboard us into our conference season.”
mlindsay@hpenews.com | 336-888-3526 | @HPEmichael
