ELLERBE — The Ellerbe Middle School boys’ and girls’ soccer teams overcame late-game ties Tuesday to advance to the Southeastern Middle School Athletic Conference championship.
The pair of victories marked the second time in three seasons the No. 1 Wildcats and No. 1 Lady Wildcats will be contending for a conference title. Both teams made it in 2017, but lost.
Wildcats edge No. 4 East Hoke in penalty kicks
Things didn’t look good for Jimmy Chavez’s top-seeded Wildcats, who went down 2-0 early in the first half to the No. 4 East Hoke Middle School Eagles. But his team would battle back, tie the game, and win 3-2 in a shootout.
East Hoke notched a goal in the 15th minute on a corner kick, before adding another on a breakaway in the 21st minute.
At halftime, Chavez rallied his players, reminding them “this is our year.” The Wildcats responded in the 39th minute with a goal from eighth grader Yair Aquino, who headed in a ball on a cross.
With the clock winding down and East Hoke still leading, the Eagles made a costly mistake by committing a handball inside the 18-yard box with 10 minutes to go. Seventh grader Henry Zapata stepped in to take the penalty kick, banging it off the left post and into the net to tie it 2-2.
Both teams finished regulation without scoring again, sending the game to penalty kicks. The first round saw five players from each team kick, with three going in for the Wildcats and Eagles.
Eighth grader Konner Carter, Ellerbe’s goalkeeper, made a save on East Hoke’s first kick, while another shot hit off the crossbar.
Kicking for Ellerbe were Zapata, Kevin Cortes, Jullian Cline, Daniel Jaimes and Gerardo Aguirre. Zapata started things off with a goal in the bottom right corner, and was followed by Cortes’ goal in the same location in the second round.
Cline sent a laser into the twine to give Ellerbe a 3-1 lead, but blocks on Jaimes’ and Aguirre’s shots, coupled with two goals by East Hoke ended the first round tied 3-3. That forced a sudden death round.
Carter stuck out his left hand on the Eagles’ first shot in sudden death, stopping the opposing keeper’s shot. That set up Aquino for the game-winning goal, who rocketed a shot into the lower left corner to end it.
Ellerbe (9-1) will host No. 3 Rockingham (9-2) at 5 p.m. on Thursday in the SEMSAC title game. The Wildcats defeated the Rockets 5-1 in the regular season.
Stroman’s two late goals lift Lady Wildcats past No. 5 Carver
Prior to the boys’ win, the No. 1 Lady Wildcats and head coach Derek Anderson defeated No. 5 Carver Middle School 2-1. The playoff game saw less offense than Ellerbe’s 6-4 win over the Lady Eagles in the regular season.
Both teams played a scoreless first half, with Ellerbe’s offense maintaining possession in Carver’s end for most of the game. Several players put shots on frame for the Lady Wildcats, but Anderson’s players couldn’t find the net.
As the end of the game neared, eighth grader Nyla Stroman, who scored four goals in the teams’ first meeting, had different plans. She broke the scoreless tie in the 53rd minute, connecting on a corner kick from teammate Melissa Morales.
Ellerbe kept the pressure on and forced several more corner kicks in the game’s waning moments. Morales was helpful in setting up Stroman’s second goal, putting a corner from the opposite side on frame, which Stroman used her knee to tap in during the 58th minute.
Eighth grader and Ellerbe goalkeeper Chloe Nunn didn’t face many shots, but made a pair of blocks toward the end of the first half. She kept the shutout intact until the final minute, when Carver netted a goal with 10 seconds left in regulation.
The Lady Wildcats (9-1) will also host No. 3 Rockingham (9-2) in the SEMSAC championship game on Thursday at 4 p.m. During the regular season, the Lady Wildcats beat Rockingham 2-0.
