Flurry of goals spurs Wildcat win
HIGH POINT — Westchester Country Day eventually showed what it’s capable of in its playoff opener.
The top-seeded Wildcats, after a bit of a sluggish start, scored six straight goals — including three during a critical eight-minute window — to beat unseeded Davidson Day 7-2 on Thursday at Westchester in the second round of the NCISAA 2A West boys soccer playoffs.
“When you start a tournament, you’ve always got to get going,” said Westchester coach Adam Schwartz, whose team had a first-round bye. “(Davidson Day) already played a game, so they were loose. You could tell they’ve played, and we hadn’t played in almost a week. So, we were a little flat-footed.
“I don’t know why we’d be nervous, but we have some guys who haven’t played state tournament soccer before. So, I think there were a little bit of nerves. But, once we got going, scoring off set pieces was huge for us. It’s such a focus and an important part of our game.”
George Culp had three goals and two assists to lead the Wildcats (10-2), who have won five in a row after losing a close match against 3A power Calvary Day — the only opponent that has beaten them this season. Myles Patterson also scored two goals while Ben Van Dessel had one goal and one assist.
Tyler Matthews added the final goal, and Hamer Brigman had two assists while Quinto Keomalaythong, Cleveland Armentrout and Bo Brigman each had one as Westchester advanced to the quarterfinals for the fourth straight season. It’ll host fourth-seeded The O’Neal School on Saturday at 5 p.m.
“I don’t think it was our best game, but our focus right now is just to find a way to win,” Culp said. “And that’s what we did. So, as long as we can keep doing that and hopefully get the level up a little bit, then I think we’ll be in a good position.”
The Wildcats jumped ahead in the ninth minute on a quick header by Culp, but the Patriots (6-6) answered in the 19th minute on a penalty kick following a foul in the penalty area. Westchester rebounded in the 27th minute when Culp made a run in front. His hard shot was stopped, but Van Dessel poked in the loose ball.
That gave the Wildcats the lead and a sudden spark after the opening 20 minutes were fairly even.
“I think it was tough for us to get energy at the start,” said Culp, one of nine seniors on the team. “Then once our second goal went in, we just turned it on and the energy was brought up to just a better level. We just started going harder and working and winning those 50-50 balls.”
Westchester added goals in the 30th minute when Hamer Brigman, after throwing the ball in and receiving a pass back, sent a pass in front to Patterson for a quick chip by the goalie. In the 35th minute, Van Dessel sent the ball upfield, setting up Patterson for a hard shot on the run that gave the Wildcats a 4-1 lead.
“That’s where it’s great to have seniors,” Schwartz said. “The leadership we have isn’t going to allow us to freak out. And that’s what I saw. They were disappointed — it was a bad penalty.
“We were caught out of place and weren’t as compact as we want to be. But it happens, and you can’t lose it and you can’t self-implode. So, I’m really glad that we kept it together. And we have the ability to score in bunches.”
Westchester added three straight goals early in the second half — a pair by Culp on a deflected ball in front in the 52nd minute and again on a flurry in front after a free kick in the 54th minute, and one by Matthews after Bo Brigman nicked a header through a crowd in front in the 61st minute.
Davidson Day capped the scoring in the 63rd minute as substitutes played much of the final minutes. The Wildcats finished with a 23-10 advantage in shots, while Cook Smith totaled five saves in goal before giving way to Harry Georgiadis for the final five minutes.
“At this point, they’re not all pretty,” Schwartz said. “You’ve just got to survive and advance, as Jimmy V. said. We lived to play another day. So, hopefully on Saturday we’ll come out a little stronger in the first half.”
mlindsay@hpenews.com | 336-888-3526 | @HPEmichael
- By MICHAEL LINDSAY ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Westchester Country Day eventually showed what it’s capable of in its playoff opener.
The top-seeded Wildcats, after a bit of a sluggish start, scored six straight goals — including three during a critical eight-minute window — to beat unseeded Davidson Day 7-2 on Thursday at Westchester in the second round of the NCISAA 2A West boys soccer playoffs.
“When you start a tournament, you’ve always got to get going,” said Westchester coach Adam Schwartz, whose team had a first-round bye. “(Davidson Day) already played a game, so they were loose. You could tell they’ve played, and we hadn’t played in almost a week. So, we were a little flat-footed.
“I don’t know why we’d be nervous, but we have some guys who haven’t played state tournament soccer before. So, I think there were a little bit of nerves. But, once we got going, scoring off set pieces was huge for us. It’s such a focus and an important part of our game.”
George Culp had three goals and two assists to lead the Wildcats (10-2), who have won five in a row after losing a close match against 3A power Calvary Day — the only opponent that has beaten them this season. Myles Patterson also scored two goals while Ben Van Dessel had one goal and one assist.
Tyler Matthews added the final goal, and Hamer Brigman had two assists while Quinto Keomalaythong, Cleveland Armentrout and Bo Brigman each had one as Westchester advanced to the quarterfinals for the fourth straight season. It’ll host fourth-seeded The O’Neal School on Saturday at 5 p.m.
“I don’t think it was our best game, but our focus right now is just to find a way to win,” Culp said. “And that’s what we did. So, as long as we can keep doing that and hopefully get the level up a little bit, then I think we’ll be in a good position.”
The Wildcats jumped ahead in the ninth minute on a quick header by Culp, but the Patriots (6-6) answered in the 19th minute on a penalty kick following a foul in the penalty area. Westchester rebounded in the 27th minute when Culp made a run in front. His hard shot was stopped, but Van Dessel poked in the loose ball.
That gave the Wildcats the lead and a sudden spark after the opening 20 minutes were fairly even.
“I think it was tough for us to get energy at the start,” said Culp, one of nine seniors on the team. “Then once our second goal went in, we just turned it on and the energy was brought up to just a better level. We just started going harder and working and winning those 50-50 balls.”
Westchester added goals in the 30th minute when Hamer Brigman, after throwing the ball in and receiving a pass back, sent a pass in front to Patterson for a quick chip by the goalie. In the 35th minute, Van Dessel sent the ball upfield, setting up Patterson for a hard shot on the run that gave the Wildcats a 4-1 lead.
“That’s where it’s great to have seniors,” Schwartz said. “The leadership we have isn’t going to allow us to freak out. And that’s what I saw. They were disappointed — it was a bad penalty.
“We were caught out of place and weren’t as compact as we want to be. But it happens, and you can’t lose it and you can’t self-implode. So, I’m really glad that we kept it together. And we have the ability to score in bunches.”
Westchester added three straight goals early in the second half — a pair by Culp on a deflected ball in front in the 52nd minute and again on a flurry in front after a free kick in the 54th minute, and one by Matthews after Bo Brigman nicked a header through a crowd in front in the 61st minute.
Davidson Day capped the scoring in the 63rd minute as substitutes played much of the final minutes. The Wildcats finished with a 23-10 advantage in shots, while Cook Smith totaled five saves in goal before giving way to Harry Georgiadis for the final five minutes.
“At this point, they’re not all pretty,” Schwartz said. “You’ve just got to survive and advance, as Jimmy V. said. We lived to play another day. So, hopefully on Saturday we’ll come out a little stronger in the first half.”
mlindsay@hpenews.com | 336-888-3526 | @HPEmichael
