Sandhills Cyclones
Fayetteville Force Gold left Southern Pines with a little less luster after the Sandhills Cyclones dusted them 6-1 in U11 girls’ Challenge action Sunday.
Angela Tagliareni kick-started both halves with a goal early in each period. When Fayetteville tagged the Cyclones for the first point six minutes into the match, Tagliareni answered two minutes later, burying a shot off the left side on Keegan Cary’s through pass from the center. Tagliareni found her spot on the left flank again in the second half with a sideline breakaway for the score.
The Cyclones spread the wealth on the offense end. Cary added a goal in the first period on a cross from Kathryn Palmer. Brittany Ritter’s chip shot over the Force defense closed out the first period and gave the Cyclones a 3-1 edge at the break.
Keegan Lynch slipped in for the steal on a Fayetteville goal kick and caught the defense looking on a quick put-back for the goal. Jessie Wilson made it an even half-dozen for the Cyclones when she converted Cary’s corner kick with an assist from Ritter.
Goalkeepers Jordan Bridgman and Allyson Parziale combined for four saves, with Ivey Lee and Meredith Hawke completing the defensive stand.
With a 6-0-1 record in hand, earned from solid teamwork and consistent play on and off the ball, the Cyclones are poised for a hard run to the finish. They will try to stop another storm Sunday when they roll into Chapel Hill to take on the Chapel Hill United Hurricanes.
Sandhills Magic
Sandhills Magic knocked off the Wilson Wanderers Saturday at Morganton Road for the second time in as many weeks to close out the U12 Classic season with a 4-2-1 record.
Beth Hieronymus took a through pass from Rachel Stewart and fired a high shot over the keeper for the only goal in a 1-0 Magic victory.
The match had a decidedly defensive flavor with Magic defenders Clare Epling, Lauren Corrigan and Alexa Zoellner setting the tone and limiting the opposition to four shots aimed in goalkeeper Sara Dejak’s direction.
Magic offensive trio Kelly Godwin, Riley Hasson and Sarah Senior faced a stingy Wanderer backfield but pushed six shots past the Wanderer defense.
Magic moves into the Kepner State Cup preliminaries in two weeks.
Sandhills Arsenal
When the whistle sounded at halftime, Sandhills Arsenal trailed CASL United White by a goal. After the break, Arsenal came back with a purpose and a plan and gunned down CASL 3-2 in Saturday’s U13 clash in Raleigh.
United edged ahead two minutes before the whistle in the first half on an Arsenal miscue that left the ball exposed in front of the goal and open for the CASL strike.
Arsenal huddled at the half and came back with the plan — spread the United defense with quick passes on the wings, keep the shots on the ground and beat the off-side trap.
The plan clicked early in the second half when Arsenal fired a three-goal burst in a five-minute span.
Thomas Goulden buried a penalty kick set up after Aaron Stroker drew a foul in the box, knotting the score at 1-1.
Stroker had the angle moments later on a breakaway off a through pass from Goulden. Stroker banked a low grounder off the near post and cut the goal line to move Arsenal ahead.
Max Brenner nabbed the insurance goal when Dillon Maples topped a pass over the defense to send Brenner on a dash to the box. Brenner finished with a left-footed shot that ricocheted off the far post and into the net.
Austin Halstead, Dylan Cole, Drew Gagliardi and Taylor Miles staged a stingy defense that squelched the CASL attack, except for an own goal lost on a bad bounce in a scramble to clear the box. Dylan Hasson handled the goalkeeping chores for Arsenal with six saves for the day.
Arsenal reloads this weekend as it heads into postseason play in the First Touch Tournament in Concord.
Sandhills Speed
Sandhills Speed blistered CRSC ATP White for four goals in the first half of a 6-1 U11 Challenge romp Sunday in Apex.
Will Price cranked the engine for Speed, converting a Nicholas Kruyer corner kick for the opening goal.
Ivan Miron notched a first-half deuce to shift Speed into high gear. Miron got the first piece on a move from midfield to the right side for the release, then made the play of the day on the second piece with a steal in the box that put the ball in the air. Miron’s second touch lofted the ball over the keeper’s outstretched hands for the point.
Kruyer doubled in goals and assists, scoring on a first-period solo run from the midfield past a pair of defenders for the score in the mouth of the goal, then closed out the match with a strike off the right side.
Jimmy Casey topped the tally for Speed with a goal scored after Kruyer captured a loose ball in the box and flipped it to Casey for the shot.
ATP’s only score came off a scramble in heavy traffic in the box.
Mitchell Dotson and Jacob Talbert split time in the goal and registered four saves in the match that produced a 23-6 shot advantage for Speed.
Speed improves to 5-0-1 for the season and entertains Fayetteville Force on Sunday.
Sandhills Thunder
Sandhills Thunder split a pair of matches to close out the spring U16 Classic season, falling 4-1 to the EDSC Coastal Hurricanes on Saturday, then nipping FVAA Flash White 2-1 on Sunday.
Thunder took a cue from the weather and turned cold in the first half of Saturday’s match with the Coastal Hurricanes, falling into a three-goal hole before the break.
The second half played out as a draw with Thunder matching goals with the Hurricanes, failing to recover from the deficit, but escaping the shutout. Thunder’s lone score came on Tommy Ransdell’s breakaway straight in to a one-on-one challenge with the keeper.
Thunder dittoed its earlier season meeting with FVAA Flash White, surrendering the first goal then rebounding for the win.
Flash White jumped ahead on a breakaway goal at the 10-minute mark, but Westley Grannis delivered the equalizer before the half expired. Grannis pushed Thunder ahead in the first minute of the second period when he collected a pass from Ransdell in transition and connected for the 2-1 lead.
Thunder closes the book on the spring schedule and prepares for postseason play.
Sandhills Chaos
Sandhills Chaos dueled the Chapel Hill Piranhas to a nil-nil draw in U12 Challenge competition Sunday in Chapel Hill.
Chaos goalkeeper Shannon Potter came up with some big saves boosted by some heads up defense from Jessica Crandall and Rachel Van Camp.
Kellyann Miller and Kendal Thomas keyed a Chaos attack that made some good casts into the Piranhas’ pond but fell short in hooking a goal that would break the tie.
Chaos returns to Morganton Road Sunday where it plays CRSC Carolina Blue.
Sandhills Heat
Sandhills Heat lit a slow-burning fuse in a fast-paced U14 Challenge match with East Wake Freedom Sunday. Heat advanced to 3-2-2 with the 4-2 road win played at East Wake Middle School.
After 27 minutes of play, the fuse hit the charge for Heat when Hailey Cioccolanti got a foot on a corner kick that rattled around the box and bounced off Charlotte McDonald.
Rebecca Dupre doubled the lead as time expired in the first half, taking advantage of a deflection off a Freedom defender.
Heat fanned the flames going in to the second period when Charlotte McDonald used some full-body contact to nudge Anna Pilson’s corner kick into the goal.
Freedom made a bid to cool Heat’s run, scoring on a header off an indirect kick and again on a Heat deflection, narrowing the margin to 3-2 with six minutes to play.
Heat delivered the closer with three minutes to go when Dupre placed a throw-in in front of Carey Averbook at the 18. Averbook relayed to a waiting Paton Davis, who tucked in the score.
Defense kept the match tight at both ends of the pitch. Heat defenders Bailey Pages, Brittany Ratigan and Megan Rock provided the key to keeping goalkeeper Summer Hennings’s day quiet.
Heat entertains the Lumberton Lady Gunners Sunday at Morganton Road.
Sunday Schedule
(Home matches at Morganton)
Challenge: U10B — Sandhills Vipers vs. FVAA Flash Sean, 2:30 p.m.; U11B — Sandhills Storm at LRSA Gunners, 2:30 p.m.; U11B — Sandhills Speed vs. Fayetteville Force, 4 p.m.; U11G — Sandhills Cyclones at Chapel Hill/United Hurricanes, 2:30 p.m.; U12G — Sandhills Chaos vs. CRSC Carolina Blue, 2:30 p.m.; U13B — Sandhills Extreme at Chapel Hill United Real, 2:30 p.m.; U14G — Sandhills Heat vs. LRSA Lady Gunners, 2:30 p.m.; U15G — Sandhills Spirit vs. Durham/Chapel Hill Spirit, 4 p.m.
