Cougars race past Bengals
Oct 15
HIGH POINT – High Point Christian is figuring out some things late in the season.
In their second game back following a two-week break, the Cougars scored four second-half goals to race past Greensboro Day 5-0 in Piedmont Triad Athletic Conference boys soccer Thursday evening at West End Park.
“I think it’s really coming together for us,” HPCA coach Austin Beck said. “Stepping out Tuesday I think was a challenge for us, being off two weeks completely. Then to come out today, that was a team performance.
“We were together – moving the ball around, combination plays, and then we had the finishing piece as well. So, I think overall it was a great performance from our guys.”
Jackson Davis scored three goals to lead the Cougars (1-4 overall, 1-4 conference), who were sidelined for two weeks after an uptick in coronavirus cases at the school stopped in-person learning and athletics. Brady Hepner and Jay Johnson each added one goal.
Levi Curlee tallied two assists while Jacob Bullard and Connor Bullard each had one, highlighting a solid all-around performance by HPCA. The Cougars maintained pressure, moved the ball well and – particularly in the second half – finished their scoring chances.
“I thought we had our best game of the season,” Davis said. “It was really good to come out here, play together and win as a team. It was great to do it on Senior Night as well.
“I think it really shows the resilience of our team,” he said of returning from the break. “It shows how strong we can be when we work together. And when we’re all healthy, we can do what we want against other teams.”
HPCA, which will travel to Greensboro Day (1-7, 1-7) tonight to end the regular season, opened the scoring in the 25th minute. Curlee drew a foul in the penalty area and Davis netted the penalty kick. The Cougars maintained their 1-0 lead into halftime.
Davis again scored in the 51st minute after taking a pass from Jacob Bullard along the left side. He stepped to the middle and fired a shot from near the top of the penalty area. He tallied his third goal five minutes later on a run through the middle that gave HPCA a 3-0 lead.
“I feel like our whole team really rallied around each other,” Davis said. “We weren’t going to lose. I think that’s what it came down to. We just knew we had it in us and we were going to win.”
The Cougars scored their final two goals in the 65th minute – when Johnson finished in front off a centering pass by Curlee along the endline – and inside the final two minutes – when Hepner stepped and fired a shot over the goalkeeper – to put the final stamp on a strong performance.
Drew Kooistra finished with four saves as HPCA outshot the Bengals 18-7.
The result was certainly a positive after such a long break – especially after rain limited the Cougars’ practice time early in the week, Beck said. The boost in confidence will help as they prepare for the start of the state playoffs next week. All teams will be invited and the brackets will be released over the weekend.
“As a coach, you want to see your team click,” Beck said. “And usually it starts clicking with some momentum. So, for us to go from no momentum to now and this performance, I think it speaks volumes to our leadership and to us really wanting to come out and perform well for our seniors. So, it’s great to see.
“Obviously, we want to see our seniors go out on a high. And we’re the youngest team in our conference. Most of these teams have eight to 10 seniors and we’ve got five and a good core group of young players. So, for them to get this experience and build on it with our seniors’ leadership, it’s huge for us going forward.”
mlindsay@hpenews.com | 336-888-3526 | @HPEmichael
Oct 15
HIGH POINT – High Point Christian is figuring out some things late in the season.
In their second game back following a two-week break, the Cougars scored four second-half goals to race past Greensboro Day 5-0 in Piedmont Triad Athletic Conference boys soccer Thursday evening at West End Park.
“I think it’s really coming together for us,” HPCA coach Austin Beck said. “Stepping out Tuesday I think was a challenge for us, being off two weeks completely. Then to come out today, that was a team performance.
“We were together – moving the ball around, combination plays, and then we had the finishing piece as well. So, I think overall it was a great performance from our guys.”
Jackson Davis scored three goals to lead the Cougars (1-4 overall, 1-4 conference), who were sidelined for two weeks after an uptick in coronavirus cases at the school stopped in-person learning and athletics. Brady Hepner and Jay Johnson each added one goal.
Levi Curlee tallied two assists while Jacob Bullard and Connor Bullard each had one, highlighting a solid all-around performance by HPCA. The Cougars maintained pressure, moved the ball well and – particularly in the second half – finished their scoring chances.
“I thought we had our best game of the season,” Davis said. “It was really good to come out here, play together and win as a team. It was great to do it on Senior Night as well.
“I think it really shows the resilience of our team,” he said of returning from the break. “It shows how strong we can be when we work together. And when we’re all healthy, we can do what we want against other teams.”
HPCA, which will travel to Greensboro Day (1-7, 1-7) tonight to end the regular season, opened the scoring in the 25th minute. Curlee drew a foul in the penalty area and Davis netted the penalty kick. The Cougars maintained their 1-0 lead into halftime.
Davis again scored in the 51st minute after taking a pass from Jacob Bullard along the left side. He stepped to the middle and fired a shot from near the top of the penalty area. He tallied his third goal five minutes later on a run through the middle that gave HPCA a 3-0 lead.
“I feel like our whole team really rallied around each other,” Davis said. “We weren’t going to lose. I think that’s what it came down to. We just knew we had it in us and we were going to win.”
The Cougars scored their final two goals in the 65th minute – when Johnson finished in front off a centering pass by Curlee along the endline – and inside the final two minutes – when Hepner stepped and fired a shot over the goalkeeper – to put the final stamp on a strong performance.
Drew Kooistra finished with four saves as HPCA outshot the Bengals 18-7.
The result was certainly a positive after such a long break – especially after rain limited the Cougars’ practice time early in the week, Beck said. The boost in confidence will help as they prepare for the start of the state playoffs next week. All teams will be invited and the brackets will be released over the weekend.
“As a coach, you want to see your team click,” Beck said. “And usually it starts clicking with some momentum. So, for us to go from no momentum to now and this performance, I think it speaks volumes to our leadership and to us really wanting to come out and perform well for our seniors. So, it’s great to see.
“Obviously, we want to see our seniors go out on a high. And we’re the youngest team in our conference. Most of these teams have eight to 10 seniors and we’ve got five and a good core group of young players. So, for them to get this experience and build on it with our seniors’ leadership, it’s huge for us going forward.”
mlindsay@hpenews.com | 336-888-3526 | @HPEmichael
