Labra leads Raiders past Kerr-Vance
BY RYAN LEGER
RLEGER@HENDERSONDISPATCH.COM;
The Southern Vance boys’soccer team hosted local rival Kerr-Vance Academy Thursday evening in a matchup that was rescheduled from last Thursday because of weather. The contest was a battle throughout as both squads left everything they had on the field, but the Raiderswere the better team in the second half and came away with a 2-0 victory to improve their record to 6-1 on the season.
The Spartans (4-2) held their own in the first half, as both teams had several excellent scoring opportunities, but just couldn’t find a way to put the ball in the net. Spartans’ eighth-grader Christopher Steg barely missed wide on a few breakaway chances, while sophomore Jack Cheever was robbed by Raiders’ goaltender Logan Waite with33 seconds left before halftime.
Kerr-Vance was able to slow down the Raiders’ highpowered offense through the first 40 minutes, but Southernjunior Bladimir Labra and senior captain Luis Amaya- Villa still had a few good looks that they were unable to capitalize on.
After a scoreless first half— during which both goaltenders made crucial saves— Southern’s explosive offense went to work. Labra used his speed to get past the Spartans’ defense, made a nifty move to fool Kerr-Vance goaltender Cam Pritchett and tapped the ball in from a difficult angle to put the Raiders up 1-0 with 26:37 left in regulation.
“We were struggling a little bit in the first half with marking, we weren’t getting on the goal side of their players and we were letting them run on us a little bit. But we adjusted at the half and were marking up a lot tighter and communicating a lot better in the second half,” Raiders’ head coach Brandi Breinig said. “Much like our offense, our defense has great chemistry. These guys have been playing together for years and I can’t teach that. It’s great to have a group that has moved together through the years and has that chemistry already built. Carlos [Barajas] really holds down the defense in the back and Logan [Waite] is new this year, but has really stepped up over the past couple games and was just awesome again tonight.”
The Raiders controlled the ball for the majority of the second half, as Labra, Amaya- Villa, Fabian Renteral
and senior captain Scott Adcock turned up the pressure in an attempt to expand on their lead. Despite losing the time of possession battle, Kerr-Vance still had plenty of opportunities to get on the scoreboard, including breakaways by Steg and junior Gabriel Carr.
T h e S p a r t a n s ’ defense hung tough, but in the end the Raiders’ athletes were just too talented for Kerr-Vance. Southern doubled its lead with 11:08 left in the contest, as Labra Spartan defenders, waiting until he was almost at the end line before making a beautiful cross pass to Renteral, who promptly booted the ball into the back of the net.
“I thought we got the better of them in the first half. We had at least three one on one chances against the goalie and we didn’t make use of it,” Spartans’ head coach Devon Honeywell said. “I knew they [Southern] were going to come and play a good game because I’m very familiar with some of their players and we tried to do as much as we could to contain and restrict them, but in the end they had two players that were just of better quality than ours and they got the better of us. It’s just one of those stumbles along the way for us and we just have to regroup, get refocused and learn from this experience.”
Although the Raiders got the win, the offense is used to scoring more than two goals in a match and has been on an absolute roll to start the season. Labra gave a lot of credit to the Kerr-Vance defense, saying that the Spartans’ speed bothered him and his teammates, which caused them to miss a few shots they typically convert.
When asked why the offense has been so successful to start the year, Labra and Breinig both cited the chemistry of the group. The pair also have the same goal in mind for this fall and that is to make the 2A State Playoffs.
“I think it’s [the o f f e n s e ] w o r k i n g because I have a great team and they help me out. It’s mainly teamwork that allows us to score and play great games. The defense also played really well tonight and gave a great effort, it was probably the best game they’ve played all season,” Labra said. “My goal is to make it to the playoffs and beat my record from last year, which was 30 goals. We just need to keep practicing harder and keep working hard as a team and I think we can make it.”
Surpassing his record from last season shouldn’t be too difficult for Labra, who’s now scored 26 goals and recorded seven assists through seven games. Amaya-Villa leads the Raiders in assists with 17 and has also found the back of the net 12 times this fall. The duoseems almost impossible to stop, as Amaya- Villa has a knack for connecting with the speedster on long passes and Labra is clearly one of the best finishers around, with the ability to dribble through an entire defense. Breinig doesn’t want her team getting ahead of themselves, however, as they begin 2A Northern Carolina Conference play Monday at the North Carolina School of Science and Math. Southern has had trouble against conference opponents in the past, a trend they desperately want to change this year.
“We’ve got to show up in the conference for sure,” Breinig said when asked what her team needs to do in order to make the playoffs. “Wehave to beat some of these conference teams that we’ve had struggles with in the past. We also need to stay healthy and make sure we are stretching and hydrating.
“We’re in the running for the playoffs right now and if we can just stay healthy and keep playing our game of passing well and taking a lot of shots, then I think we’ll make it. If it’s going to happen, this is definitely the year.”
The Spartans will tryand get back on track when they host Oxford Prep Tuesday evening, while the Raiders travel to Durham Monday night to face NCSSM in their conference opener.
BY RYAN LEGER
RLEGER@HENDERSONDISPATCH.COM;
The Southern Vance boys’soccer team hosted local rival Kerr-Vance Academy Thursday evening in a matchup that was rescheduled from last Thursday because of weather. The contest was a battle throughout as both squads left everything they had on the field, but the Raiderswere the better team in the second half and came away with a 2-0 victory to improve their record to 6-1 on the season.
The Spartans (4-2) held their own in the first half, as both teams had several excellent scoring opportunities, but just couldn’t find a way to put the ball in the net. Spartans’ eighth-grader Christopher Steg barely missed wide on a few breakaway chances, while sophomore Jack Cheever was robbed by Raiders’ goaltender Logan Waite with33 seconds left before halftime.
Kerr-Vance was able to slow down the Raiders’ highpowered offense through the first 40 minutes, but Southernjunior Bladimir Labra and senior captain Luis Amaya- Villa still had a few good looks that they were unable to capitalize on.
After a scoreless first half— during which both goaltenders made crucial saves— Southern’s explosive offense went to work. Labra used his speed to get past the Spartans’ defense, made a nifty move to fool Kerr-Vance goaltender Cam Pritchett and tapped the ball in from a difficult angle to put the Raiders up 1-0 with 26:37 left in regulation.
“We were struggling a little bit in the first half with marking, we weren’t getting on the goal side of their players and we were letting them run on us a little bit. But we adjusted at the half and were marking up a lot tighter and communicating a lot better in the second half,” Raiders’ head coach Brandi Breinig said. “Much like our offense, our defense has great chemistry. These guys have been playing together for years and I can’t teach that. It’s great to have a group that has moved together through the years and has that chemistry already built. Carlos [Barajas] really holds down the defense in the back and Logan [Waite] is new this year, but has really stepped up over the past couple games and was just awesome again tonight.”
The Raiders controlled the ball for the majority of the second half, as Labra, Amaya- Villa, Fabian Renteral
and senior captain Scott Adcock turned up the pressure in an attempt to expand on their lead. Despite losing the time of possession battle, Kerr-Vance still had plenty of opportunities to get on the scoreboard, including breakaways by Steg and junior Gabriel Carr.
T h e S p a r t a n s ’ defense hung tough, but in the end the Raiders’ athletes were just too talented for Kerr-Vance. Southern doubled its lead with 11:08 left in the contest, as Labra Spartan defenders, waiting until he was almost at the end line before making a beautiful cross pass to Renteral, who promptly booted the ball into the back of the net.
“I thought we got the better of them in the first half. We had at least three one on one chances against the goalie and we didn’t make use of it,” Spartans’ head coach Devon Honeywell said. “I knew they [Southern] were going to come and play a good game because I’m very familiar with some of their players and we tried to do as much as we could to contain and restrict them, but in the end they had two players that were just of better quality than ours and they got the better of us. It’s just one of those stumbles along the way for us and we just have to regroup, get refocused and learn from this experience.”
Although the Raiders got the win, the offense is used to scoring more than two goals in a match and has been on an absolute roll to start the season. Labra gave a lot of credit to the Kerr-Vance defense, saying that the Spartans’ speed bothered him and his teammates, which caused them to miss a few shots they typically convert.
When asked why the offense has been so successful to start the year, Labra and Breinig both cited the chemistry of the group. The pair also have the same goal in mind for this fall and that is to make the 2A State Playoffs.
“I think it’s [the o f f e n s e ] w o r k i n g because I have a great team and they help me out. It’s mainly teamwork that allows us to score and play great games. The defense also played really well tonight and gave a great effort, it was probably the best game they’ve played all season,” Labra said. “My goal is to make it to the playoffs and beat my record from last year, which was 30 goals. We just need to keep practicing harder and keep working hard as a team and I think we can make it.”
Surpassing his record from last season shouldn’t be too difficult for Labra, who’s now scored 26 goals and recorded seven assists through seven games. Amaya-Villa leads the Raiders in assists with 17 and has also found the back of the net 12 times this fall. The duoseems almost impossible to stop, as Amaya- Villa has a knack for connecting with the speedster on long passes and Labra is clearly one of the best finishers around, with the ability to dribble through an entire defense. Breinig doesn’t want her team getting ahead of themselves, however, as they begin 2A Northern Carolina Conference play Monday at the North Carolina School of Science and Math. Southern has had trouble against conference opponents in the past, a trend they desperately want to change this year.
“We’ve got to show up in the conference for sure,” Breinig said when asked what her team needs to do in order to make the playoffs. “Wehave to beat some of these conference teams that we’ve had struggles with in the past. We also need to stay healthy and make sure we are stretching and hydrating.
“We’re in the running for the playoffs right now and if we can just stay healthy and keep playing our game of passing well and taking a lot of shots, then I think we’ll make it. If it’s going to happen, this is definitely the year.”
The Spartans will tryand get back on track when they host Oxford Prep Tuesday evening, while the Raiders travel to Durham Monday night to face NCSSM in their conference opener.
