Short-handed Asheville scored two goals in the
second overtime to pull out a 3-1 Mountain Athletic Conference
soccer victory over Smoky Mountain on Oct. 1 at Carr Hooper
Stadium/Babe Howell Field.
The Mustangs had the perennial state powerhouse on the ropes
after Asheville's Thomas Righi was ejected with four minutes
left in regulation. That forced the Cougars to play a man down
the rest of the way, which was not necessarily a good thing,
according to SM Coach Dolphus Brown.
Smoky
Mountain's Bryan Mand moves past an Asheville defender in last
week's 3-1 overtime loss. - Herald photo by Carey Phillips
"I do not like it when the other team gets
a red card," he said "Every time that happens the
team that goes down a man usually dominates. It becomes a mental
thing."
He noted the Cougars moved their stopper to midfield and dropped
a man back defensively.
Scott Szymanski scored both OT goals.
"He's their speedster," Brown said. "He blitzed
us at their place for a hat trick."
His first goal came at the 92-minute mark as he beat a defender
on the right side and scored from 10 yards out.
"That one deflated us a lot," the coach said. "I
don't think we were tired. It just took the fire out of us."
Szymanski struck again two minutes later. This time he dribbled
through a couple of defenders and connected from 12 yards away.
"It was one of the most exciting games we've ever been
involved with," Brown said. "That's the closest we've
come to beating a team the caliber of Asheville."
The Mustangs took a 1-0 lead at the 26-minute mark on Chris
Wofford's header from 6 yards out. The play started with David
White's throw-in. Coleman Corzine flicked the ball with his
head to Wofford, who headed it in.
The Cougars drew even some four minutes later as Tindy Smith
converted a penalty kick after a foul in the box.
Brown was not willing to call the close lose a moral victory.
"Had it not been for the penalty kick, we would have won
that game," he said.
He praised P.J. Arkansas for the defensive job he did holding
Szymanski in check.
"We challenged ourselves to not play with fear but to play
with courage and take the game to them," the coach said.
The Mustangs stayed close despite Asheville having a 29-12 advantage
in shots. A big reason was the play of goalie Bryan Newbold,
who had 19 saves. Renato Corte made six saves for the Cougars.
The Mustang JVs fell to 0-8 with a 9-0 loss.
