Westchester blanks HPCA
Sep 24
Michael Lindsay | Enterprise Sports Writer
HIGH POINT – Westchester Country Day got a big win on a big stage.
The Wildcats grabbed the lead late in the first half, took full control with a flurry of goals early in the second and rolled past High Point Christian 4-0 in NCISAA Piedmont Triad Athletic 2A/3A/4A Conference boys soccer Monday night at High Point University’s Vert Stadium.
“First half, we were a little sloppy. I think we had a lot of adrenaline,” Westchester coach Adam Schwartz said. “The field was fast and we were rushing everything. They responded really well after halftime, and came out in the second half really strong. They did exactly what we asked of them at halftime.
It was a really good team effort.
“I thought our defense played really well, led by Reece Hetley – I thought Reece played awesome. Obviously, George makes things happen up top. He gets so much attention, which allows opportunities for everybody else. We just need other guys to step up. We knew High Point Christian would give their best effort here tonight, and they played a great first half.
“We just made a couple adjustments at halftime and tried to put them away.”
George Culp scored two goals to lead the Wildcats (6-3 overall, 3-1 PTAC), who controlled much of the run of play and outshot the Cougars 20-8 for the match. Hamer Brigman had a goal and an assist, while Alex Nixon had one goal and Myles Patterson had two assists.
Westchester took the lead in the 30th minute when Brigman, working along the right sideline, passed to Culp in the middle near the top of the box for a quick shot. But, despite the Wildcats building more and more pressure in the offensive half, that 1-0 score held into halftime.
In the second half, Westchester quickly pulled away with goals by Brigman in the 45th minute, taking a pass from Patterson along the right side and racing in wide open, and Culp again in the 46th minute, scoring off a ball that deflected back to him, to extend the lead to 3-0.
Nixon tacked on the final scored on a low liner from distance in the 69th minute.
“It was really good for the team,” senior defender Reece Hetley said of the win. “We’ve been developing throughout the season, talking about how we need to control the midfield, pass it out wide. And I feel like we did that really well on this nice, beautiful big field. We could find it in the mid, pass it out wide and just control and find the gaps.
“We came together at halftime and coach asked us, ‘Are you playing to your highest level?’ And we said, ‘No.’ So, as a group, we decided we would push it one more up. We came out and said, ‘First 10 minutes we’re coming out swinging. We’re coming out as hard as we can.’ And it worked out well for us.”
HPCA (1-12, 0-7) battled particularly hard to begin the game. But as the Wildcats’ pressure took effect, the Cougars struggled.
“I think it was OK from us,” Cougars coach Austin Beck said. “Obviously, the scoreline shows it could’ve been better. We turned the ball over in critical areas and made critical mistakes. And against a good team, they’re going to make you pay for it. We made four mistakes on four goals, and Westchester’s a good team.
“From the start of the game, we were just defending too much. And part of it was that we couldn’t complete a pass to get us out of our end. We just had to keep accepting pressure, accepting pressure. We kept ourselves in the game, made a couple saves off the line. But we just couldn’t get out of our end. And when you accept that much pressure, it’s going to wear down on you.
“I think things are coming together – we’re a young team,” he said of the team’s progress. “We’ve got to get that experience. The process is that you’ve got to learn how to compete. And now that we’re in this competitive situation, now we’re looking for: Can we get the results? Can we find that edge to push us to the next level? I think that’s the next step we’re looking for.”
Cook Smith made six saves while Gavin Brumfield made one for Westchester, which plays again Thursday at Caldwell Academy before hosting Greensboro Day on Friday. Jake Segers made seven saves and Drew Kooistra made one for HPCA, which plays Friday at Asheville Christian.
mlindsay@hpenews.com
Sep 24
Michael Lindsay | Enterprise Sports Writer
HIGH POINT – Westchester Country Day got a big win on a big stage.
The Wildcats grabbed the lead late in the first half, took full control with a flurry of goals early in the second and rolled past High Point Christian 4-0 in NCISAA Piedmont Triad Athletic 2A/3A/4A Conference boys soccer Monday night at High Point University’s Vert Stadium.
“First half, we were a little sloppy. I think we had a lot of adrenaline,” Westchester coach Adam Schwartz said. “The field was fast and we were rushing everything. They responded really well after halftime, and came out in the second half really strong. They did exactly what we asked of them at halftime.
It was a really good team effort.
“I thought our defense played really well, led by Reece Hetley – I thought Reece played awesome. Obviously, George makes things happen up top. He gets so much attention, which allows opportunities for everybody else. We just need other guys to step up. We knew High Point Christian would give their best effort here tonight, and they played a great first half.
“We just made a couple adjustments at halftime and tried to put them away.”
George Culp scored two goals to lead the Wildcats (6-3 overall, 3-1 PTAC), who controlled much of the run of play and outshot the Cougars 20-8 for the match. Hamer Brigman had a goal and an assist, while Alex Nixon had one goal and Myles Patterson had two assists.
Westchester took the lead in the 30th minute when Brigman, working along the right sideline, passed to Culp in the middle near the top of the box for a quick shot. But, despite the Wildcats building more and more pressure in the offensive half, that 1-0 score held into halftime.
In the second half, Westchester quickly pulled away with goals by Brigman in the 45th minute, taking a pass from Patterson along the right side and racing in wide open, and Culp again in the 46th minute, scoring off a ball that deflected back to him, to extend the lead to 3-0.
Nixon tacked on the final scored on a low liner from distance in the 69th minute.
“It was really good for the team,” senior defender Reece Hetley said of the win. “We’ve been developing throughout the season, talking about how we need to control the midfield, pass it out wide. And I feel like we did that really well on this nice, beautiful big field. We could find it in the mid, pass it out wide and just control and find the gaps.
“We came together at halftime and coach asked us, ‘Are you playing to your highest level?’ And we said, ‘No.’ So, as a group, we decided we would push it one more up. We came out and said, ‘First 10 minutes we’re coming out swinging. We’re coming out as hard as we can.’ And it worked out well for us.”
HPCA (1-12, 0-7) battled particularly hard to begin the game. But as the Wildcats’ pressure took effect, the Cougars struggled.
“I think it was OK from us,” Cougars coach Austin Beck said. “Obviously, the scoreline shows it could’ve been better. We turned the ball over in critical areas and made critical mistakes. And against a good team, they’re going to make you pay for it. We made four mistakes on four goals, and Westchester’s a good team.
“From the start of the game, we were just defending too much. And part of it was that we couldn’t complete a pass to get us out of our end. We just had to keep accepting pressure, accepting pressure. We kept ourselves in the game, made a couple saves off the line. But we just couldn’t get out of our end. And when you accept that much pressure, it’s going to wear down on you.
“I think things are coming together – we’re a young team,” he said of the team’s progress. “We’ve got to get that experience. The process is that you’ve got to learn how to compete. And now that we’re in this competitive situation, now we’re looking for: Can we get the results? Can we find that edge to push us to the next level? I think that’s the next step we’re looking for.”
Cook Smith made six saves while Gavin Brumfield made one for Westchester, which plays again Thursday at Caldwell Academy before hosting Greensboro Day on Friday. Jake Segers made seven saves and Drew Kooistra made one for HPCA, which plays Friday at Asheville Christian.
mlindsay@hpenews.com
