New local rivalry is born
BY RYAN LEGER
RLEGER@HENDERSONDISPATCH.COM
Vance Charter has expanded to include a ninth-grade classn this year, and with that expansion comes the wonderful world of varsity sports. The Knights boys’ soccer squad hosted Crossroads Christian at the Granville Athletic Park Tuesday evening in the first-ever matchup between the two Henderson schools.
“I’m a firm believer that schools go as athletics go, meaning if you have a good strong athletic program, you’ll have a good strong school,” Vance Charter head coach Dennis Sandlin said. “I think that the athletes really help drive the school and I think that we’re going to do great with high school sports as we grow and get stronger. The expansion
is definitely a great thing for the school.”
The Colts (1-2) defeated Vance Charter 6-0 to earn their first victor y of the year, as five dif ferent players found the back of the net for Crossroads. Colts’ head coach Aaron Hale liked what he saw from his offense, who he said looked like they were much more comfortable with the ball than in their previous matches.
Junior Brody Steffensen looked especially comfortable on the pitch Tuesday, netting two goals during the contest, which is more than the Colts’ of fense scored during their first two games combined. Hale also cited the brilliant performance of first-year sophomore goaltender
Jackson Overby, who was starting in net for just the third time in his soccer career. Hale was very impressed
with Overby’s decision making and how quickly the sophomore is improving and settling into his role.
“We’re still experimenting with our lineup a little and have some guys settling into new positions, but we looked a lot sharper today,” Hale said. “We just want to keep a level head on our shoulders and be sober about how we assess the victory, knowing that they didn’t have any players older than freshmen. But they still had some very sharp players and played good soccer, really making our guys work for it, so we’re going to try and ride this momentum into our next matchup.”
The Knights, who lost to East Wake in their first varsity game ever, understand they’re in for a long season, but Sandlin is confident that his players will learn a lot over the course of the year and be better off for it, even if they don’t end up winning a single game.
“What we’re going to walk away with is an awareness. I pre-warned all the boys that the teams we’d be playing were all going to be bigger, stronger, faster and have more facial hair than us,” Sandlin said. “The thing they’ll take away from these games is a better understanding of the approach of these other teams, the strength that’s going to be
required and the dedication that’s going to be needed to be successful at this level. I think our guys are going to start learning that real fast.It was only our second game today and there was a vast improvement in the physicality of our play, the movement of the ball and our decision making. It’s all positives andthere’s just nowhere to go but up.”
Sandlin coached the middleschool soccer team at Vance Charter for six yearsand is extremely familiar with most of his players. Sandlin was impressed with the play of his captains — Adley Brewer, Ben Daniel and Foster Williamson — and will be expecting the trio to lead the Knights in their debut season. The veteran coach also cited the performance of his first-year goaltender Ben Breedlove and was ver y impressed with the youngsters decision making ability on Tuesday. Sandlin also talked about what it’s like to jump up to the varsity level with only a freshmen class.
“It’s like we’re tr ying to cross this raging river that is varsity sports and everygame we’re throwing a rock into the river in hopes of getting to the other side, which is victory,” Sandlin said. “It’s a struggle and everybody knows that it’s going to be a struggle, but knowing that we’re growing and learning is definitely a step in the right direction for us.”
Crossroads will look to carry the momentum they gained Tuesday on the road when they travel to play 1A Carolina Independent Conference foe Epiphany on Friday. On the other hand, Vance Charter will take a few weeks off before traveling to face Oxford Prep onSept. 9.
BY RYAN LEGER
RLEGER@HENDERSONDISPATCH.COM
Vance Charter has expanded to include a ninth-grade classn this year, and with that expansion comes the wonderful world of varsity sports. The Knights boys’ soccer squad hosted Crossroads Christian at the Granville Athletic Park Tuesday evening in the first-ever matchup between the two Henderson schools.
“I’m a firm believer that schools go as athletics go, meaning if you have a good strong athletic program, you’ll have a good strong school,” Vance Charter head coach Dennis Sandlin said. “I think that the athletes really help drive the school and I think that we’re going to do great with high school sports as we grow and get stronger. The expansion
is definitely a great thing for the school.”
The Colts (1-2) defeated Vance Charter 6-0 to earn their first victor y of the year, as five dif ferent players found the back of the net for Crossroads. Colts’ head coach Aaron Hale liked what he saw from his offense, who he said looked like they were much more comfortable with the ball than in their previous matches.
Junior Brody Steffensen looked especially comfortable on the pitch Tuesday, netting two goals during the contest, which is more than the Colts’ of fense scored during their first two games combined. Hale also cited the brilliant performance of first-year sophomore goaltender
Jackson Overby, who was starting in net for just the third time in his soccer career. Hale was very impressed
with Overby’s decision making and how quickly the sophomore is improving and settling into his role.
“We’re still experimenting with our lineup a little and have some guys settling into new positions, but we looked a lot sharper today,” Hale said. “We just want to keep a level head on our shoulders and be sober about how we assess the victory, knowing that they didn’t have any players older than freshmen. But they still had some very sharp players and played good soccer, really making our guys work for it, so we’re going to try and ride this momentum into our next matchup.”
The Knights, who lost to East Wake in their first varsity game ever, understand they’re in for a long season, but Sandlin is confident that his players will learn a lot over the course of the year and be better off for it, even if they don’t end up winning a single game.
“What we’re going to walk away with is an awareness. I pre-warned all the boys that the teams we’d be playing were all going to be bigger, stronger, faster and have more facial hair than us,” Sandlin said. “The thing they’ll take away from these games is a better understanding of the approach of these other teams, the strength that’s going to be
required and the dedication that’s going to be needed to be successful at this level. I think our guys are going to start learning that real fast.It was only our second game today and there was a vast improvement in the physicality of our play, the movement of the ball and our decision making. It’s all positives andthere’s just nowhere to go but up.”
Sandlin coached the middleschool soccer team at Vance Charter for six yearsand is extremely familiar with most of his players. Sandlin was impressed with the play of his captains — Adley Brewer, Ben Daniel and Foster Williamson — and will be expecting the trio to lead the Knights in their debut season. The veteran coach also cited the performance of his first-year goaltender Ben Breedlove and was ver y impressed with the youngsters decision making ability on Tuesday. Sandlin also talked about what it’s like to jump up to the varsity level with only a freshmen class.
“It’s like we’re tr ying to cross this raging river that is varsity sports and everygame we’re throwing a rock into the river in hopes of getting to the other side, which is victory,” Sandlin said. “It’s a struggle and everybody knows that it’s going to be a struggle, but knowing that we’re growing and learning is definitely a step in the right direction for us.”
Crossroads will look to carry the momentum they gained Tuesday on the road when they travel to play 1A Carolina Independent Conference foe Epiphany on Friday. On the other hand, Vance Charter will take a few weeks off before traveling to face Oxford Prep onSept. 9.
