Bucks Drop Semifinal Game

Article courtesy of The Robesonian at http://www.robesonian.com/
Pirates advance to conference final
by Edward Greene

RAEFORD - Lumberton\'s boys\' soccer coach Kenny Simmons reiterated one of the hardest things to do as a team is beat an opponent three straight times in a season.

That difficulty was certainly in play as the third-seeded Pirates needed a solid defensive effort on Wednesday to escape second-seeded Hoke County, 2-1, in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

The go-ahead goal was scored in the 53rd minute when Conner Haskins caught up to a pass from out of Lumberton territory down the sideline. Haskins took it all the way himself and beat Bucks keeper Logan Wilson at the near post.

"That\'s just Conner, he\'s a hustler out there," Simmons said. "We play a very defensive alignment, 4-5-1, and you if you play that you want a guy like him in that position."

After a few scoring chances in the first ten minutes, the Pirates got on the board when a Lumberton shot was deflected by Hoke\'s Joseph Latham right to Lumberton\'s Jared Scott in the box. Scott was wide open in front of the net and stuck it in the back.

The Bucks pressured Lumberton\'s defense, keeping it in their zone for much of the rest of the half. Pirate keeper P.J. Monteiro had two saves in the closing minutes to preserve a 1-0 halftime lead.

Hoke came out on the attack again in the second half, and broke through when Spencer Whittington got free in the box and shot one over the head of Monteiro to even the match in the 44th minute.

The Bucks\' best opportunityto tie it late came in the 67th minute when Elijah Evans had a shot blocked by Monteiro, with the rebound coming straight to Allan Hernandez. Hernandez however missed wide left from inclose, and the Bucks would not get a better opportunity the rest of the match.

Hoke County head coach Derek Butler never got the sense his team matched Lumberton\'s intensity level.

"That was our message,"Butler said. "We needed to bring our best for 80 minutes, and they just outplayed us."

The Pirates (8-11-1) travel to top-seeded Pinecrest today for the conference championship game followng the Patriots\' 6-0 win over Richmond.

If Lumberton beats Pinecrest, Hoke will drop to the third seed in the state playoffs and travel.  If Pinecrest is not upset, the Bucks will host Cape Fear next week in the first round of the state tournament.