ROCKINGHAM — The Southeastern Middle School Athletic Conference boys’ and girls’ soccer playoffs got underway across the sandhills Tuesday, as both of Rockingham Middle School’s teams advanced to the second round.
No. 3 Rockets edge No. 6 West Hoke in penalty kicks
Kicking things off was Daniel Webb’s Rocket soccer team, which faced No. 6 West Hoke Middle School. In what became a defensive battle between the two teams, Rockingham defeated the Tigers 3-1 in penalty kicks.
Tuesday’s meeting marked the second time this season the Rockets played West Hoke, the first matchup ending in a 1-0 win for Rockingham. The playoff game would see 60 minutes of scoreless soccer before a trio of Rockets found the net in the shootout.
After a scoreless first half, sixth grader Landon Summerlin appeared to break the scoreless tie in the 40th minute. Off an indirect kick, Summerlin headed the ball past West Hoke’s keeper, but was whistled for offsides, negating the goal.
In the penalty kick shootout, Webb sent Summerlin, sixth grader Jed Davis, seventh grader Andrew Conyers and eighth grader Chris Lopez to the line. After Rocket goalkeeper Emerson Wall stuffed the first Tigers’ attempt, Summerlin’s shot banged off the right post for a miss.
West Hoke’s second shot hit the crossbar, which set up Conyers to take the lead, which he did by blasting a shot in the upper right corner. The Tigers made it 1-1 on their third attempt, but Davis answered back by booting the ball in the lower left corner to make it 2-1.
On its fourth attempt, West Hoke’s kicker sent his shot wide left, leaving the door open for Lopez to send his team to the second round. Lopez, like Davis, went to the left side, blasting his shot into the net before celebrating with his teammates.
The Rockets (8-2) will travel to face No. 2 seed and rival Hamlet Middle School (8-2) in the second round on Monday. Hamlet defeated Rockingham in the two teams’ regular-season meeting.
Lutz’s goal lifts No. 3 Lady Rockets past No. 6 Spring Hill
Much like the boys’ game, the No. 3 Lady Rockets and the No. 6 Lady Spartans of Spring Hill Middle School struggled to get the offensive ball rolling in their first-round matchup.
The two teams battled back and forth in the first half, entering the break in a scoreless tie. With the clock winding down and a penalty kick shootout looming, seventh grader Gabby Lutz changed the outcome of the game.
With 1:43 remaining, Lutz scored the game’s lone goal to give the Lady Rockets a 1-0 victory. Assisting on her goal were Allie Rodgers and Karter Walker.
Rockingham (8-2) will also travel to No. 2 Hamlet Middle School (8-1) on Monday for the second round. The Lady Red Rams won the regular-season matchup.
