Dunkley leads Spartans with hat trick
BY RYAN LEGER
HENDERSON DAILY DISPATCH STAFF
The Kerr-Vance Academy girls’ soccer squad hosted it’s cross-town conference rival Crossroads Christian (2-3-2) Thursday afternoon, dominating all phases of the game in a 4-0 victory over the visiting Colts. The match also marked the first time that Crossroads has failed to score in a game all season.
The Spartans (8-2-1, 6-0) were able to control the ball almost the entire contest, constantly putting pressure on the Colts’ defense and goaltender Amber Peoples, who had 17 saves on the evening. Kerr-Vance remains atop the 1A Carolina Independent Conference with the win, which gives the Spartans a perfect 6-0 mark in conference play.
Spartans’ coach Razvan Tegean wasn’t expecting too much out of this year’s squad, which doesn’t have one senior on the roster, but the girls continue to surprise him as their red-hot start to the season keeps on rolling.
“We’re still young, but they just work so hard,” Tegean said. “We’ve played a lot of games for this point in the season and it’s been very hard on their legs, especially in the beginning. But they bring so much passion and energy to practice, they really love the game and love playing with each other. I think the biggest challenge going forward will be to go out and play our best and hardest, regardless of the score, every time we are on the field.”
The Spartans struck extremely early as eighth-grader Lorena Negron’s gorgeous cross pass found its way to the foot of freshman midfielder Ashley Dickerson, who rifled a shot past Peoples less than
two minutes into the game. Although the Spartans outshot the Colts 14-2 in the first half, Peoples kept the Colts within a goal by making some excellent saves until Spartans’ sophomore Nicole Dunkley intercepted a goal kick, dribbled between two Crossroads’ defenders and beat Peoples from point-blank range with 12:28 remaining in the half.
Despite having plenty of opportunities to score in the first half, the Spartans only led 2-0 heading into the break. Colts’ goaltender Amber Peoples most likely had a little something to do with it. Peoples, who had 17 saves during the game, had never played soccer before this season and didn’t really have an interest in the sport. But the Colts needed a goalie and couldn’t afford to have no subs on their roster, and Peoples was convinced by her friends to give it a chance.
“Amber has been stellar,” Colts’ coach Josh Bogle said. “I don’t know if she had ever touched a ball, but her friends forced her into it and I’m glad they did to say the least. Amber joined the team the day before our first game, so I really only got one practice to work with her. She has basically just been learning the position on the go all season. She’s still got several skills she needs to work on, but is so athletic, coachable and is picking everything up faster than we ever could’ve believed.”
Kerr-Vance kept the pressure on the Colts in the second half, missing several scoring chances within the first five minutes of play. The Spartans essentially put the contest out of reach when they found the back of the net twice within three minutes to claim a 4-0 advantage. Spartans’ striker Nicole Dunkley scored on an assist from junior Megan O’Leary with 28:36 left and then Dunkley added another goal for the hat trick on an assist from Ashley Dickerson with 26:19 remaining.
“I mean obviously it’s really hard stamina wise, but what’s worse is we can’t be flexible with our lineup because we only have one sub,” Bogle said when asked about only having 12 players. “I’d say that’s the biggest issue. We got who we got and if they’re having a bad day we just have to wait it out. We can’t be flexible and switch personnel around during the game, which really hurts us.”
The Spartans are young, but talented. Tegean realizes that he is dealing with something special and that a post-season run is probable at this point, but just gave a big smile and said we are taking one game at a time at this point.
“I do want them to understand that their energy level can’t go down even for a minute though,” Tegean said. “If we got a chance to play in the playoffs, those games are completely different situations than the regular season. We still have a lot of work to do, and we will see what happens when and if we get to the playoffs.”
BY RYAN LEGER
HENDERSON DAILY DISPATCH STAFF
The Kerr-Vance Academy girls’ soccer squad hosted it’s cross-town conference rival Crossroads Christian (2-3-2) Thursday afternoon, dominating all phases of the game in a 4-0 victory over the visiting Colts. The match also marked the first time that Crossroads has failed to score in a game all season.
The Spartans (8-2-1, 6-0) were able to control the ball almost the entire contest, constantly putting pressure on the Colts’ defense and goaltender Amber Peoples, who had 17 saves on the evening. Kerr-Vance remains atop the 1A Carolina Independent Conference with the win, which gives the Spartans a perfect 6-0 mark in conference play.
Spartans’ coach Razvan Tegean wasn’t expecting too much out of this year’s squad, which doesn’t have one senior on the roster, but the girls continue to surprise him as their red-hot start to the season keeps on rolling.
“We’re still young, but they just work so hard,” Tegean said. “We’ve played a lot of games for this point in the season and it’s been very hard on their legs, especially in the beginning. But they bring so much passion and energy to practice, they really love the game and love playing with each other. I think the biggest challenge going forward will be to go out and play our best and hardest, regardless of the score, every time we are on the field.”
The Spartans struck extremely early as eighth-grader Lorena Negron’s gorgeous cross pass found its way to the foot of freshman midfielder Ashley Dickerson, who rifled a shot past Peoples less than
two minutes into the game. Although the Spartans outshot the Colts 14-2 in the first half, Peoples kept the Colts within a goal by making some excellent saves until Spartans’ sophomore Nicole Dunkley intercepted a goal kick, dribbled between two Crossroads’ defenders and beat Peoples from point-blank range with 12:28 remaining in the half.
Despite having plenty of opportunities to score in the first half, the Spartans only led 2-0 heading into the break. Colts’ goaltender Amber Peoples most likely had a little something to do with it. Peoples, who had 17 saves during the game, had never played soccer before this season and didn’t really have an interest in the sport. But the Colts needed a goalie and couldn’t afford to have no subs on their roster, and Peoples was convinced by her friends to give it a chance.
“Amber has been stellar,” Colts’ coach Josh Bogle said. “I don’t know if she had ever touched a ball, but her friends forced her into it and I’m glad they did to say the least. Amber joined the team the day before our first game, so I really only got one practice to work with her. She has basically just been learning the position on the go all season. She’s still got several skills she needs to work on, but is so athletic, coachable and is picking everything up faster than we ever could’ve believed.”
Kerr-Vance kept the pressure on the Colts in the second half, missing several scoring chances within the first five minutes of play. The Spartans essentially put the contest out of reach when they found the back of the net twice within three minutes to claim a 4-0 advantage. Spartans’ striker Nicole Dunkley scored on an assist from junior Megan O’Leary with 28:36 left and then Dunkley added another goal for the hat trick on an assist from Ashley Dickerson with 26:19 remaining.
“I mean obviously it’s really hard stamina wise, but what’s worse is we can’t be flexible with our lineup because we only have one sub,” Bogle said when asked about only having 12 players. “I’d say that’s the biggest issue. We got who we got and if they’re having a bad day we just have to wait it out. We can’t be flexible and switch personnel around during the game, which really hurts us.”
The Spartans are young, but talented. Tegean realizes that he is dealing with something special and that a post-season run is probable at this point, but just gave a big smile and said we are taking one game at a time at this point.
“I do want them to understand that their energy level can’t go down even for a minute though,” Tegean said. “If we got a chance to play in the playoffs, those games are completely different situations than the regular season. We still have a lot of work to do, and we will see what happens when and if we get to the playoffs.”
