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SM tops North to wrap up spot in 2-A soccer playoffs
Smoky Mountain clinched a spot in the state 2-A soccer playoffs with a 3-1 Western Athletic Conference win over North Henderson on Oct. 15 at Carr Hooper Stadium/Babe Howell Field.
The Mustangs trailed most of the first half before tying the score in the final seconds. They dominated the second half with five goals, including four in a span of just more than five minutes.
“I don’t think I can ever recall a half of soccer that was more enjoyable or gratifying than the second half,” Coach Dolphus Brown said.
He was disappointed with the way his team played most of the first half.
“It’s just a mental thing,” he said. “When we don’t bring our game early, we find ourselves in a bit of a bind.”
The Knights scored first when Josh Cawthorn connected from 15 yards on the left side at the 11:37 mark.
“The kid was totally unmarked,” Brown said.
SM tied it 1-1 on Jarrod Couch’s goal at the 28:21 mark off Paul Heckert’s throw-in.
“Jarrod was crossing from the opposite post about 8 yards out,” the coach said. “He just turned and knocked it into the net.”
North went up 2-1 when Matt Lancaster scored from 14 yards out at the 32:44 mark. The play began with a corner kick that the Mustangs failed to clear.
“He just saw an opening and ripped it,” Brown said.
With just six seconds to go in the half, Brandon Norris’ goal, with an assist from Rodrigo Nogal, pulled SM into a 2-2 tie.
“That was so big,” Brown said. “Rodrigo had played the ball over to Brandon. He received the ball and left-footed it into the far post from 7 yards. That gave us a huge lift, and it had to take something out of them.”
Building on the momentum, the Mustangs went up 3-2 just 1:22 into the second half on a goal by Richard Ramirez. Matt Dougherty and Jarrod Couch were credited with assists.
“Matt threw the ball in, and Jarrod punched it over to Richard, who was 11 yards out and crossed it back into the net,” Brown said.
Keller Berry’s goal at the 57:28 mark made it 4-2 and started the run of four goals in five minutes to put the game away. Paul Ulrich provided an assist.
“The ball bounced off the keeper and rolled to Keller, who was 7 yards out,” the coach said.
Berry had the assist on the next goal, which was scored by Couch, at the 60:37 mark for a 5-2 advantage.
“Keller played the ball to Jarrod, and he stuck it in from 6 yards on the left side,” Brown said.
Ramirez extended the margin to 6-2 at the 61:14 mark off of Nogal’s assist.
“Rodrigo played it to Richard,” the coach said. “He had a guy on each side of him. Richard beat them and scored from 9 yards.”
Cort Smith’s penalty kick after a foul in the box accounted for the final goal at the 62:42 mark.
The strong second half allowed the Mustangs to finish with an 18-8 advantage in shots. SM’s Max Macedo made four saves while Jeremy Cauley, who played in goal briefly when Macedo left with an injury, had one. North’s Andrew Wilson and Fernando Martinez made five and four saves, respectively.
North won the JV game 3-1 dropping the Mustangs to 3-6-1.
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