H.S. SOCCER ROUNDUP: Pats explode in 5-1 opening-round win

When the Freedom boys soccer team puts together five minutes of offense like it did Wednesday sandwiched around halftime at the Catawba River Soccer Complex, the other 75 minutes are almost irrelevant.

 The Patriots broke open a 1-1 tie against visiting South Point in the 36^th minute with a goal from junior Justin Hang before senior Jose Tejeda scored three goals in the next five minutes, putting Freedom’s 5-1 opening-round 3A state playoff victory on ice.

Amazingly, Freedom (15-6-2) had another score wiped off by an offsides penalty, denying the hosts a possibility of five goals in six scorching minutes of all-out attack soccer.

“I was hoping we could score a lot of goals in the first half,” Pats coach David Fletcher said, “but I never dreamed it would come just like that — bang, bang, bang. We just got hot there in that one little streak, and that was almost the ball game.”

Christian Patton tallied the match’s opening goal to give Freedom a 1-0 edge in the third minute, but the visiting Red Raiders tied the score 1-1 on a Grayson Webb rebound score.

Hang collected a loose ball following a free kick and pounded it home from close range with his right foot for the Pats’ second goal. Less than a minute later, Freedom senior Sinson Lee threw the ball in to sophomore Yaret Regino, who headed it to an open Tejeda for the score.

Tejeda then picked a loose ball out of the South Point keeper’s reach and drilled it home for a 4-1 lead at the break. Nothing changed to start the second half, as Tejeda took a Patton flip throw-in to complete his hat trick.

“It’s tough to come from behind on the road, especially when you get down more than one (goal) like that,” Fletcher said. “They spent a lot of energy coming back and tying it, and when we got a couple goals, I think it took the wind out of their sails a little bit.”

Robby Goodchild, Maurtice Francis and Lee each picked up assists for the Pats, who outshot the Raiders, 16-9, and held a 6-2 edge in corner kicks attempted.

Three of Freedom’s goals came either directly or indirectly off Patton throw-ins, which typically sail at least 25 to 30 yards through the air.

“Christian’s throws have been a weapon for us all year,” Fletcher added. “That was big for us tonight. I thought it put (South Point) under a lot of pressure. We talk about it a lot — set pieces are huge in the playoffs. And we executed off them tonight probably better than we had all year.”

The victory advances Freedom to the second round of the playoffs for the 12^th time in 21 postseason visits. The Pats’ back-to-back seasons with at least one playoff win places them alongside to the 1994-96 teams, the last ones to accomplish the feat.

Freedom will host Enka on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the second round.

- Paul Schenkel

Asheville 6, Patton 0 — Cougars junior Zack Jones had recorded his hat trick with just five minutes gone in the second half to give host Asheville a commanding 5-0 lead that only grew larger late Wednesday in the first round of the 3A state playoffs.

Corey McDonough scored the first two Cougar goals with assists by Jones in both the sixth and 10th minute, while Jones put in the first of his three goals with 3:27 left until intermission.

After Patton (10-11-1) held Asheville at 5-0 for the majority of the second half, Rob Fong made the final score 6-0 with 4:54 left in the contest. The win moved the powerhouse Asheville team to 22-1-1 on the year and gave goalkeeper Ethan Wallerins-Caldwell his 18th shutout.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game, as Asheville is very fast and very good,” Panther coach Keith Scott said. “We have not played a team with the overall speed they possess. We still played a good game I thought, as the guys made some good stops and showed some good ball movement.

“Roger (Hernandez) made some excellent saves in goal, and I am proud of our overall performance. Just to make it to the playoffs was an accomplishment after the way we started the season. We really came together the second part of the year. I will miss our seniors and am very proud of the way the team finished the season.”

- Bill Bailey