Knights are back on top of NCISAA 1-A soccer
Greenfield surge too much for Neuse Christian in final
By Paul Durham paul@wilsontimes.com | 265-7808 | Twitter: @PDsports
Within a few minutes late in the first half of Saturday’s North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A boys soccer championship match at Greenfield School’s Forbes Field, the host Knights simply seized power.
With ruthless precision, Greenfield pounced on a pair of scoring opportunities to deliver a crippling 1-2 punch to Neuse Christian’s hopes of repeating as champion.
The Knights (17-3-2) didn’t score until the 29th minute, but within seconds of each other in the final two-and-a-half minutes, found the net twice more to seize control on the way to a 4-0 victory for the program’s 15th state 1-A title and first under second-year head coach Eric Nguyen.
“The energy was good. Their confidence was good,” Nguyen said. “They felt ready to go and they proved it once they stepped on the field. I’m so proud of these guys.”
The game was a rematch of not only last year’s NCISAA 1-A final but also the final game of Greenfield’s Dr. Robert Stone Memorial Showcase in August. The Lions (16-4) won both of those, 4-2 and 2-0, respectively, but it was a different story Saturday.
Greenfield, the No. 2 seed, was coming off a come-from-behind 6-4 victory against Grace Christian of Sanford in the fog at Forbes Field on Tuesday. That gave the Knights all the momentum they would need to take on the top-seeded Lions again, said junior striker Jeremy Alvarez, whose two goals were the final nails in the proverbial coffin for Neuse Christian on Saturday.
Greenfield was a step quicker, both to the ball and in constructing its attack, and put constant pressure on the Lions with its clean traps, volleys and passes. Unlike on that blazing August Saturday evening at Forbes Field, the Knights were not intimidated by the Lions this time, Alvarez said.
Perhaps the biggest confidence-booster of the day came on the defensive end for the Knights. The teams had already traded a few shots when a well-struck ball off the foot of a Lions’ player began to curve dangerously to the left of Knights junior goalkeeper Frankie Peele, who lunged in time to punch the ball away.
The save, one of four by Peele, instantly energized the Knights while the Lions were stunned and failed to create anything off the subsequent corner kick. However, Greenfield went right to work. Just after sophomore Matt Kirby missed on an open look from outside the 25-yard line, the Knights were back on the attack. Junior William Smith found center midfielder Sebastian Partida Jr. just outside the box. Partida, after gathering the ball, launched a left-footed missile that scooted past Lions goalkeeper Griffin Ogden with 11:12 left to play in the half.
“Everything kind of lined up and I hit it and kind of knew it was going in,” said Partida, who described himself as being “fluttered with emotion” after the goal.
However, the Knights were just getting started. Senior forward Zeke Ferrell created a breakaway opportunity against Ogden but couldn’t steer the ball into the net in the 31st minute. With less than three minutes before halftime, Ferrell created another breakaway chance, this time with Lions defender Matt Mocnik running interference for Ogden. Ferrell simply pivoted outside the box and pushed the shot to the inside of Mocnik, who was in no position to defend, and past Ogden for a 2-0 lead.
The Lions hardly had time to ponder their plight when Greenfield was knocking on the door again less than a minute later. Freshman defender Bryson Wall completed a long run down the right side with a cross to Alvarez, waiting in nearly the same spot as Partida was when he scored the first goal. Nearly falling down, Alvarez pirouetted around Neuse Christian defender, dribbled a couple of times and fired another left-footer into the back of the net.
Not quite game over, but close.
Whatever hope Neuse Christian had of getting back in the game was extinguished by Alvarez, whose 42nd goal of the season came after he collected a through-ball from sophomore teammate R.J. Shealy and punched it past Ogden in goal with 30:45 left in the match.
From there, the Knights’ back line of juniors Cabell Metts, William Powell, Smith and defensive mids Nathan Lozevski, Nick Sessoms and Shealy formed a “green wall” of sorts, shutting down Lions opportunities before they even materialized.
The shutout was the ninth for the Knights, who were once again on top of the NCISAA 1-A soccer world. For Nguyen, it was the culmination of a very special month that saw his wife, Brooke, give birth to their first child, daughter Mia Loren Nguyen.
“She’s 3-0!” gushed Nguyen, while holding Mia tight. “And my wife with all her support that she gives me. I’m just so happy for all these guys, all these seniors. I’m happy for Greenfield, I’m happy for everybody! It’s great!”
Greenfield surge too much for Neuse Christian in final
By Paul Durham paul@wilsontimes.com | 265-7808 | Twitter: @PDsports
Within a few minutes late in the first half of Saturday’s North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A boys soccer championship match at Greenfield School’s Forbes Field, the host Knights simply seized power.
With ruthless precision, Greenfield pounced on a pair of scoring opportunities to deliver a crippling 1-2 punch to Neuse Christian’s hopes of repeating as champion.
The Knights (17-3-2) didn’t score until the 29th minute, but within seconds of each other in the final two-and-a-half minutes, found the net twice more to seize control on the way to a 4-0 victory for the program’s 15th state 1-A title and first under second-year head coach Eric Nguyen.
“The energy was good. Their confidence was good,” Nguyen said. “They felt ready to go and they proved it once they stepped on the field. I’m so proud of these guys.”
The game was a rematch of not only last year’s NCISAA 1-A final but also the final game of Greenfield’s Dr. Robert Stone Memorial Showcase in August. The Lions (16-4) won both of those, 4-2 and 2-0, respectively, but it was a different story Saturday.
Greenfield, the No. 2 seed, was coming off a come-from-behind 6-4 victory against Grace Christian of Sanford in the fog at Forbes Field on Tuesday. That gave the Knights all the momentum they would need to take on the top-seeded Lions again, said junior striker Jeremy Alvarez, whose two goals were the final nails in the proverbial coffin for Neuse Christian on Saturday.
Greenfield was a step quicker, both to the ball and in constructing its attack, and put constant pressure on the Lions with its clean traps, volleys and passes. Unlike on that blazing August Saturday evening at Forbes Field, the Knights were not intimidated by the Lions this time, Alvarez said.
Perhaps the biggest confidence-booster of the day came on the defensive end for the Knights. The teams had already traded a few shots when a well-struck ball off the foot of a Lions’ player began to curve dangerously to the left of Knights junior goalkeeper Frankie Peele, who lunged in time to punch the ball away.
The save, one of four by Peele, instantly energized the Knights while the Lions were stunned and failed to create anything off the subsequent corner kick. However, Greenfield went right to work. Just after sophomore Matt Kirby missed on an open look from outside the 25-yard line, the Knights were back on the attack. Junior William Smith found center midfielder Sebastian Partida Jr. just outside the box. Partida, after gathering the ball, launched a left-footed missile that scooted past Lions goalkeeper Griffin Ogden with 11:12 left to play in the half.
“Everything kind of lined up and I hit it and kind of knew it was going in,” said Partida, who described himself as being “fluttered with emotion” after the goal.
However, the Knights were just getting started. Senior forward Zeke Ferrell created a breakaway opportunity against Ogden but couldn’t steer the ball into the net in the 31st minute. With less than three minutes before halftime, Ferrell created another breakaway chance, this time with Lions defender Matt Mocnik running interference for Ogden. Ferrell simply pivoted outside the box and pushed the shot to the inside of Mocnik, who was in no position to defend, and past Ogden for a 2-0 lead.
The Lions hardly had time to ponder their plight when Greenfield was knocking on the door again less than a minute later. Freshman defender Bryson Wall completed a long run down the right side with a cross to Alvarez, waiting in nearly the same spot as Partida was when he scored the first goal. Nearly falling down, Alvarez pirouetted around Neuse Christian defender, dribbled a couple of times and fired another left-footer into the back of the net.
Not quite game over, but close.
Whatever hope Neuse Christian had of getting back in the game was extinguished by Alvarez, whose 42nd goal of the season came after he collected a through-ball from sophomore teammate R.J. Shealy and punched it past Ogden in goal with 30:45 left in the match.
From there, the Knights’ back line of juniors Cabell Metts, William Powell, Smith and defensive mids Nathan Lozevski, Nick Sessoms and Shealy formed a “green wall” of sorts, shutting down Lions opportunities before they even materialized.
The shutout was the ninth for the Knights, who were once again on top of the NCISAA 1-A soccer world. For Nguyen, it was the culmination of a very special month that saw his wife, Brooke, give birth to their first child, daughter Mia Loren Nguyen.
“She’s 3-0!” gushed Nguyen, while holding Mia tight. “And my wife with all her support that she gives me. I’m just so happy for all these guys, all these seniors. I’m happy for Greenfield, I’m happy for everybody! It’s great!”
