Bucks Win Grudge Match to Advance; Home Game Saturday at 6pm
November 7, 2009 Hoke County High School
RAEFORD, NC - Hoke would be tested before the match with Cape Fear ever began on Tuesday. Monday morning, senior captain Kaleb Valliant would be involved in a car accident that required 51 stitches and would keep him out of Tuesday\\\'s contest.
During the warm-up before the game, starting goalkeeper Chris Dillon was hit in the thumb with a hard shot that would keep him from playing in the majority of first round game. Ten minutes into the game, Dillon would be replaced by Tucker Crowder, who would be replaced ten minutes later by Deontra Gillespie for the remainder of the game.
Even under these circumstances, the Bucks came out with a lot of determination to defeat their playoff rivals. Cape Fear played an aggressive style of defense, marking Walter Mejia with two defenders and committing several fouls throughout the match.
The first goal would be the result of a foul by the Colts in the penalty box. Mejia would step up and beat the keeper for the early advantage. Mejia would be issued a yellow card about ten minutes later after being repeatedly fouled by Colton Honeycutt. An explanation was not given for the yellow, but was later determined to be dissent.
Vinnie Trebat would trigger the final goal of the half by hustling to the ball with 3:18 left in the first half. He would take the ball away from a Colt defender on the right side and send a ball through the box to Jorge Herrera. Herrera would take a touch and calmly tuck the ball into the back of the net for the two-goal lead. Senior Spencer Whittington would also suffer an injury in the first half that would sideline him for the remainder of the game. Two minutes into the second half, another questionable call would result in a penalty shot for the Colts and two yellow cards given to the Bucks. Tucker Crowder would slide in the penalty box to take the ball away from a Cape Fear forward.
After the forward regained the ball and started towards goal, the ball was stolen again by Cesar Hernandez. The center official whistled the play dead, pointed toward the penalty line, and gave Crowder a yellow card. Coach Butler asked for clarification, and the official sprinted toward the coach and issued him a yellow as well.
Mychal Elliott would step up and bring the Colts to within one goal by beating Gillespie to the left side. With three seniors sidelined with injuries and the calls going against the home side, the young Bucks would need to step up to hold onto the victory. A
fter the restart, Hoke would channel their frustration toward putting the ball in the back of the net. With 35:25 remaining in the game, Vinnie Trebat would send a great cross from the right side that would connect with Allan Hernandez. Hernandez would take one touch toward goal, and send a rifle into the back of the net to increase the Buck lead to two goals for the second time in the game. Although three more cards would be issued by the official, all three would be given to Colt players. Some great defense from Joe Latham, Jacob Notestine, Cesar Hernandez, and Tucker Crowder, combined with some fine saves from Deontra Gillespie, would keep the Colts from getting any closer. Hoke (13-5-2) would beat Cape Fear (12-11-0) to move onto the second round of the state tournament.
Just southeast of Raleigh, #1 seed Clayton (15-6-0) was upset by #4 seed Laney by a score of 2-1 Tuesday night. Due to the upset, #2 seed Hoke will host Laney for the second round of the playoffs. The game is set for Saturday night at 6:00 at Raz Autry Stadium.
Coach: It was nice to get a win and advance. I thought we did a nice job of keeping our composure. Laney is going to be a talented team, so we will have to come ready to play on Saturday.
Stats: Goals - Walther Mejia, Jorge Herrera, Allan Hernandez Assists - Vinnie Trebat (2) Defensive Players of the Game - Joe Latham, Cesar Hernandez, Jacob Notestine, Tucker Crowder |
NATIONAL
NORTH CAROLINA
