WC soccer rallies over McGavock

By DALE STUBBLEFIELD / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Honored before Saturday’s game against McGavock were Pioneer soccer seniors, from left, Jerry Dixson, Lucas Griffith, Ryle Chastain, Sampson Hitchcock and David Bradshaw. The Pioneers rallied to beat McGavock, 2-1.

The Red Raiders of McGavock scored early in Saturday afternoons game against the Pioneers, at the WCHS soccer field, but aggressive offensive play by Warren County in the second half gave the Pioneers a 2-1 Senior Day victory.

“We have put together a couple of wins back to back and it feels real good. The kids worked hard today against a very physical team. For the seniors this means a lot and I’m happy with the way the whole team came out and played today,” said coach Charlie Hardee.

“We have had some up and downs this year, but the guys have matured as a team and they have shown what their capable of over the past couple of weeks. Hopefully we will keep this momentum going into the district tournament and our team will continue to improve.”

With the hopes of spoiling senior day for the five Pioneer seniors, McGavock came out in the first half and played a very physical contest. The Red Raiders struck early in the game when their left striker found the back of the net at the 38:23 mark for a 1-0 lead. Both teams played solid defense for the rest of the first half as Warren County had few chances at goal. The Pioneers continued to force the issue on offense but time ran out in the first half with the Pioneers trailing 1-0.

In the second half Warren County capitalized on several defensive mistakes by the Red Raiders. With 18 minutes left in the game McGavock was called for a penalty and Warren County’s Oscar Rodriguez was awarded the PK. Rodriguez lined the ball up and from 15 yards out sent the ball past the diving McGavock goalie to tie the game at 1-1.

The Pioneers played better on defense in the second half allowing the offense to control more of the game. With seven minutes left, the Red Raiders took several shots at goal but Pioneer goalie Jonathan Bratcher stepped up to the challenge and kept McGavock out of the net.

At the two minute mark Tatsuro Kusunoki used a little fancy foot-work as he split the McGavock defense and fired the winning shot over the head of the Red Raider goalie to give Warren County the victory.