WCHS falls in opener: State power too much for Pioneers

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard

Warren County’s Norberto Luis, right, tries to get control of the ball away from Chattanooga Christian’s Joseph Moore during the first half of Tuesday’s game at WCHS. (Rob Nunley photo)

When is a loss not such a bad thing?

When it comes to one of the state’s perennial top teams.

Granted, Warren County’s soccer squad came into Tuesday night’s season opener looking to kick the 2002 campaign off with a victory, but came up short with a 3-0 loss to Chattanooga Christian. But Pioneer coach Charlie Hardee noted several positives can come from playing a competitive game against last year’s Class A-AA state champions.

“With over half the team out there being sophomores and freshmen, you know they had some jitters to get over, especially with Chattanooga Christian coming in,” Hardee said. “These guys get on the Internet, and they know what’s going on. They know how strong Chattanooga Christian can be. So sure, they had butterflies. You’re supposed to have them, especially against a team like this.”

Toby Kellogg struck for two of the Chargers’ goals, breaking a scoreless tie with nine minutes left in the first half, and scoring the game’s final goal off a corner kick just one minute into the second. Kellogg’s scores were sandwiched around a Tim Stewart shot that came with 4:59 left in the first, and sent CCS into halftime with a 2-0 lead.

Both teams struggled at times due to Tuesday’s rainy conditions and a very slick, muddy field — a condition Hardee admitted served to his team’s advantage.

“You saw their skills in this kind of weather, imagine what it would’ve been on a dry track,” he said. “But a dry track would’ve helped us, too. Our hustle was good, but we could’ve used a little more speed on the outside.

“It’s tough to play in this, but you’ve got to do it. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.”

Jonathan Bratcher started in goal for the Pioneers, with Matt George handling duties in the net in the second half. Hardee said he was pleased with both goalkeepers’ performances, and felt although the Pioneers’ defense made a few errors, they will continue to improve with experience.

“We’ve got two good quality goalies this year, and that’s something we haven’t had in the past,” he said. “We made some mistakes defensively, but they were mistakes where we can adjust things to correct them. So we’re going to be all right.”

WCHS hits the road this weekend, taking on Clarksville tonight and Beech on Saturday.