WCHS soccer pummels Pats in 7-AAA tilt

By DALE STUBBLEFIELD Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Pioneer soccer players Dustin Martin, left, and Travis Mausey beat Oakland?s Jatroee Haynes to the ball after the Patriots tried to clear the ball down field.

After dropping two in a row the Pioneer soccer team was looking to get back on the winning track against Oakland on Tuesday night at home. The District 7-AAA contest went in Warren County?s favor as the Pioneers scored four goals to pick up a 4-0 shutout over the Patriots.

Warren County improved to 6-3-1 on the season and 3-2 in district play as Oakland dropped to 1-5-2. Warren County currently stands in fifth place in District 7-AAA.

The Pioneer offense has been lacking in recent games, but Warren County came out firing early, as Cody Cowens broke into the open field scoring the Pioneers? first goal of the game 32 seconds into the contest.

The Pioneers aggressive play on offense paid off when Jahir Hernandez pulled Oakland?s keeper from the net and sent a shot to the back corner putting Warren County on top 2-0.

Oakland had few answers for the Pioneers? offensive attack. Tony Garibaldi and Alfredo Calel had a chance to add to the Pioneer lead with under seven minutes to play in the half, but both attempts failed as the half ended with Warren County holding a 2-0 lead.

It didn?t take long for the Pioneers to add another goal to the scoreboard, Garibaldi sent a shot, which found its mark at the 38:30 mark giving Warren County a 3-0 lead.

Oakland had few chances on offense in the second half, with just three shots. The Pioneers continued to dominate on both ends of the field, passing and playing well as a team. Lazaro Serna put the game out of reach for Warren County as he scored with 8:46 left in the game to secure the victory.

The Pioneers had nine shots on goal, while the Patriots were able to come up with four on the night.

?This was definitely a good win for us,? said coach Keith Hamilton. ?Our offense has struggled over the past three games and tonight we mixed things up a little and it created more opportunities for us tonight. We played as a team tonight and hopefully this will carry over into the district tournament.?

Oakland?s Leonardo Toledo went down in the second half and had to be transported to River Park Hospital, were he under went surgery on Wednesday for a broken leg. He is scheduled to be released by the weekend.

The Pioneers were schedule to take on Riverdale on Thursday, but the game was postponed due to bad weather.

Warren County will be at home on Tuesday to take on McCallie.