Wesleyan captures state crown
Oct 27
MIchael Lindsay | Enterprise Sports Writer
HIGH POINT – Wesleyan Christian fought for one last scoring chance. With the teams locked in a hard-fought battle, its opportunities were narrowing.
And it came through.
Konner Robbins scored the go-ahead goal in the 76th minute and the top-seeded Trojans beat second-seeded Ravenscroft 2-1 to win the NCISAA 4A state championship Saturday at Wesleyan’s Sanford Field.
“Anytime you play against a team like Ravenscroft, you’re not going to completely control the game,” Trojans coach Scott Reitnour said. “There’s going to be peaks and valleys, so you maximize the peaks and ride that wave.
“When you’re in a possessional rhythm, you’re creating chances and you can capture that flow in those moments, and you try to minimize their peaks when you’re down a bit. I felt like we did a good job of that across 80 minutes.”
Jackson Kyle also scored a goal while Austin Brand and Chris Sepessy each had an assist for Wesleyan (17-2), which captured its second consecutive state title and sixth in the last nine years. The Trojans have 16 championships in 23 finals appearances.
The teams remained deadlocked into the final minutes of a physical, back-and-forth match. But, in one final offensive push upfield, Sepessy passed to Robbins along the right side of the penalty area. Robbins turned and ripped a shot past the goalkeeper and into the net.
“(Ravencroft’s Chase Lewis) is a good player, and he finally stepped pretty hard,” said Robbins, a sophomore forward. “So, I turned to my left. I hit it and it hit the post – I thought it was going to ding the post and come out, so I was surprised. It was a crazy feeling.”
“When Konner shot that, I was like, ‘Wow, he missed another one,’” senior left back Isaiah Jackson said. “And when it went in, I went crazy. I started screaming from like midfield to catch Konner Robbins. I couldn’t even describe it – I was so thrilled. What a feeling! Konner has like bruises from where we were hitting him.”
From there, Wesleyan’s defense – keyed by junior center back Grayson Gardner – hung on as the Ravens (18-2) desperately pushed forward in an all-out attempt at scoring the tying goal. The Trojans cleared the ball away time and time again until the clock finally hit zero, as the team celebrated on the field.
“It’s a crazy feeling,” Jackson said. “It’s exhilarating. It’s one of those things where it’s not even really the winning – it’s the accumulating of all the events, the journey that’s now over. It’s sad but it’s amazing to go out on such a high note and to have that memory with your friends. It’s just a crazy, good feeling.”
Wesleyan, ranked No. 2 in the state overall and No. 17 nationally by MaxPreps, took the early lead in the fifth minute when, off a corner-kick play, the ball quickly moved around well in front of the net until it found Kyle open along the left side for the game’s opening score.
But Ravenscroft, ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 7 nationally, answered in the 32nd minute on a nice upfield pass behind the defense and shot into the right side of the net. The teams – which combined for five yellow cards – remained tied 1-1 into halftime.
But Wesleyan, which totaled 502 passes for the match, weathered the Ravens’ chances and slowly and steadily built more and more opportunities in the second half until finally netting one in the final minutes. The Trojans outshot Ravenscoft 14-7 for the match, while David Le made three tough saves in goal.
“We connected over 260 passes in the first half, which is like, ‘Wow,’” Reitnour said. “We had a good bit of possession against a very good team. And I think that paid dividends for us later on in the second half. We came out in the second half and I thought Ravenscroft was able to have periods of really dangerous play.
“But we were able to play 20 players and I think they went 13 deep. Our 2s coming off the bench just provided some quality minutes and got our starters some rest. That laid on in games really makes a difference. So, I’m really proud of our team – from our starters to the guys who don’t get a lot of the limelight.”
Oct 27
MIchael Lindsay | Enterprise Sports Writer
HIGH POINT – Wesleyan Christian fought for one last scoring chance. With the teams locked in a hard-fought battle, its opportunities were narrowing.
And it came through.
Konner Robbins scored the go-ahead goal in the 76th minute and the top-seeded Trojans beat second-seeded Ravenscroft 2-1 to win the NCISAA 4A state championship Saturday at Wesleyan’s Sanford Field.
“Anytime you play against a team like Ravenscroft, you’re not going to completely control the game,” Trojans coach Scott Reitnour said. “There’s going to be peaks and valleys, so you maximize the peaks and ride that wave.
“When you’re in a possessional rhythm, you’re creating chances and you can capture that flow in those moments, and you try to minimize their peaks when you’re down a bit. I felt like we did a good job of that across 80 minutes.”
Jackson Kyle also scored a goal while Austin Brand and Chris Sepessy each had an assist for Wesleyan (17-2), which captured its second consecutive state title and sixth in the last nine years. The Trojans have 16 championships in 23 finals appearances.
The teams remained deadlocked into the final minutes of a physical, back-and-forth match. But, in one final offensive push upfield, Sepessy passed to Robbins along the right side of the penalty area. Robbins turned and ripped a shot past the goalkeeper and into the net.
“(Ravencroft’s Chase Lewis) is a good player, and he finally stepped pretty hard,” said Robbins, a sophomore forward. “So, I turned to my left. I hit it and it hit the post – I thought it was going to ding the post and come out, so I was surprised. It was a crazy feeling.”
“When Konner shot that, I was like, ‘Wow, he missed another one,’” senior left back Isaiah Jackson said. “And when it went in, I went crazy. I started screaming from like midfield to catch Konner Robbins. I couldn’t even describe it – I was so thrilled. What a feeling! Konner has like bruises from where we were hitting him.”
From there, Wesleyan’s defense – keyed by junior center back Grayson Gardner – hung on as the Ravens (18-2) desperately pushed forward in an all-out attempt at scoring the tying goal. The Trojans cleared the ball away time and time again until the clock finally hit zero, as the team celebrated on the field.
“It’s a crazy feeling,” Jackson said. “It’s exhilarating. It’s one of those things where it’s not even really the winning – it’s the accumulating of all the events, the journey that’s now over. It’s sad but it’s amazing to go out on such a high note and to have that memory with your friends. It’s just a crazy, good feeling.”
Wesleyan, ranked No. 2 in the state overall and No. 17 nationally by MaxPreps, took the early lead in the fifth minute when, off a corner-kick play, the ball quickly moved around well in front of the net until it found Kyle open along the left side for the game’s opening score.
But Ravenscroft, ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 7 nationally, answered in the 32nd minute on a nice upfield pass behind the defense and shot into the right side of the net. The teams – which combined for five yellow cards – remained tied 1-1 into halftime.
But Wesleyan, which totaled 502 passes for the match, weathered the Ravens’ chances and slowly and steadily built more and more opportunities in the second half until finally netting one in the final minutes. The Trojans outshot Ravenscoft 14-7 for the match, while David Le made three tough saves in goal.
“We connected over 260 passes in the first half, which is like, ‘Wow,’” Reitnour said. “We had a good bit of possession against a very good team. And I think that paid dividends for us later on in the second half. We came out in the second half and I thought Ravenscroft was able to have periods of really dangerous play.
“But we were able to play 20 players and I think they went 13 deep. Our 2s coming off the bench just provided some quality minutes and got our starters some rest. That laid on in games really makes a difference. So, I’m really proud of our team – from our starters to the guys who don’t get a lot of the limelight.”
