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Berry’s late goal gives SM 3-2 win over Black Hawks
Keller Berry’s goal with around two minutes remaining lifted Smoky Mountain to a 3-2 non-conference soccer victory Aug. 27 at North Buncombe.
Matt Dougherty’s throw-in started the winning play. Cort Smith flicked the ball back with his head to Berry, who nailed a header inside the far post from 8 yards away making the Mustangs 5-0.
Had the game finished tied, overtime would not have been played.
The contest was originally set for here but was moved after heavy rain associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay. North plays on artificial turf.
“It was about as exciting as you could want,” Coach Dolphus Brown said. “We needed a strong test. I was disappointed we couldn’t play here, and that was a distraction for some of our players. The turf takes some getting used to. The ball plays real quick on it, and it’s wider than our field.”
SM had an 18-5 advantage in shots during the first half but managed to put the ball in the net just once. That came when Berry scored at the 22-minute mark.
“The ball got deflected around and went off the keeper,” Brown said. “Keller was about 4 yards out inside the far post, and he knocked it in.”
Kyle Morse tied it for the Black Hawks at the 34-minute mark with his shot to the far post from about 8 yards away, and the score was 1-1 at intermission.
The Mustangs went up 2-1 two minutes into the second half as Jarrod Couch scored with an assist from Richard Ramirez.
“Richard stole the ball in the midfield and played a beautiful through ball,” Brown said. “Jarrod outran their whole defense. He shot from 17 yards while one on one with the keeper.”
Carlos Navarro pulled North into a 2-2 tie at the 68-minute mark. His first shot was stopped by goal keeper Max Macedo, but Navarro put the rebound into the net from 7 yards out.
“It was a great opportunity for this team to grow up a little bit,” Brown said. “We needed a test, and they came through with flying colors.”
Smith, Macedo and Dylan Haynes were cited for their defense while Couch was also singled out for his play.
SM finished with a 25-12 advantage in shots. Macedo made seven saves while Abraham Rosales had 17 for the Hawks.
The Mustang JVs opened their season with a 5-0 loss.
“We did extremely well,” Coach John Douthit said. “The score didn’t reflect how we played. We possessed the ball 80 percent of the time.”
The Mustangs couldn’t find the net despite a 16-8 advantage in shots.
“Matthew Leonard made some great saves on the other three shots,” Douthit said.
Blake Masson was named player of the game.
“He stepped up on defense and had some good offensive runs as well,” the coach said.
Douthit noted that 20 of the 26 players on the team are freshmen.
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