Lady Demons down stubborn Rocky Mount
March 31, 2009 Rocky Mount High School
By Paul Durham
Wilson Daily Times
WILSON - Playing for the third time in four days, Fike began Monday's 3-A NEW 6 Conference varsity girls soccer showdown with Rocky Mount with perhaps a bit of a "Brittany hangover."
After suffering their first loss and first tie in The Brittany Willis Memorial Scholarship Soccer Showcase on Friday and Saturday, the Lady Golden Demons watched the visiting Lady Gryphons take charge Monday night before rallying for a 3-1 victory.
In continuing their recent domination against their conference archrivals, the Lady Demons found a tougher challenge this time.
"I knew going in this was going to be a very good battle for us; I knew it wasn't going to be like games of the past," Fike head coach Toni Varacchi said. "Rocky Mount is much improved and they have some very solid players. It's that conference rivalry that everybody's bringing their 'A' game. We knew that going in and I don't think we had a very good first half.
"I don't know if it was a Brittany hangover or whatever you want to call it, but we seemed to lag a little bit and I think it was from playing two games this weekend."
Seniors Tramicka James and Kadie Barnes had second-half goals to break a 1-1 halftime tie and send Fike to its fourth NEW 6 win without a loss.
Fike, which lost 6-2 to Asheville T.C. Roberson on Friday and tied 2-A power Swansboro 1-1 on Saturday, improved to 6-1-1 overall. The Lady Demons are ranked 12th among state 3-A teams by the N.C. Soccer Coaches Association.
The Lady Gryphons (3-1 NEW 6, 8-2) struck first when junior forward Michelle Barringer broke free and found herself all alone 15 yards in front of Fike goalkeeper Sarah Dillard. Barringer's shot skipped to the right of Dillard, who leaned left and couldn't adjust in time to prevent the goal less than 10 minutes into the match.
"It's tough when you give up a breakaway," Varacchi said. "We got caught in no-man's land and the girl had some legs and we couldn't catch her."
Lady Demons junior defender Natalie Winslow expounded on Barringer's run.
"We definitely had a meltdown," Winslow said. "We weren't aware of her position. But that stuff happens and you've got to keep playing and we did today."
The Lady Gryphons continued to put pressure on Fike's net as the Lady Demons' offense searched for a rhythm.
"I think we came out really flat," Winslow admitted. "We were really excited to play; we were looking forward to this. But I guess we came out like we do a lot and then went flat. And then we picked up on it."
Fike got a boost when freshman midfielder Gilli Dillard's shot caromed off a Lady Gryphon defender into the net with 15:21 to play in the half.
The Lady Demons finally seized the lead when James, who has signed with Tusculum (Tenn.) College, blasted a shot on the run just outside the 18-yard line. It sizzled past startled Rocky Mount goalkeeper Holly Campbell and triggered a brief midfield celebration by the Lady Demons.
Fike wasn't able to relax, however, until the 78th minute when Barnes launched a 30-yard strike that landed behind Campbell, who finished with eight saves.
"Their second and third goals, there's no way any team is going to prevent those and that's just the way it is," shrugged Rocky Mount first-year head coach Drew Nick, who came over from Hunt. "We wanted to leave everything on the field and they left everything on the field and that was good. I thought it was a 50-50 game other than those two goals."
Fike's statistics revealed an 11-4 advantage in shots on goal while Dillard was credited with five saves.
The busy stretch may serve the Lady Demons well as they head into the thick of their conference schedule.
"We're not used to having to get up for three games in a row," Varacchi pointed out. "We haven't played three games in a week all season because of the weather. Physically we're not in that condition and mentally we're not in that condition."
After Monday's battle, the Lady Demons can see where they stand.
"We're always expecting Rocky Mount to be strong. We're both very physical and we always go at it," Winslow said. "They've been our rival as long as we've been in the conference and the fact that we've never lost to them and had good games for at least as long as I've been here, that gets into our mind that they're going to be a solid team and we're going to have to go to the best of our ability."
With one more regular-season match and a possible NEW 6 tournament meeting, Drew noted: "We're going to see them again and we're going to see them again." |
NATIONAL
NORTH CAROLINA
