Wayne Country Day earns first home win

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on September 7, 2007 2:41 PM

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Getting 11 players to act as one cohesive unit for a full 80 minutes is something Wayne Country Day coach Baron Heinemann has been searching for early on this season.

Heinemann finally got his wish Thursday afternoon.

Seeking their first home win of the season, the Chargers pressured, attacked and counter-attacked Rosewood all afternoon in a 4-0, non-conference victory.

Wayne Country Day finished with an eye-popping 39-2 shots on goal advantage that was aided by an offense that controlled the ball for the better part of the game. The Chargers (4-3 overall) turned nearly every offensive threat by Rosewood into a scoring opportunity of their own.

"Rarely did we not have a chance to counter attack," Heinemann said. "The very fact that these guys are now thinking about that quick counter attack basically means that we've got the fluid motion from the defense up to the forwards.

"They're all thinking as one unit instead of three separate stages. To see them do that for our first home field win was pretty big for us."

The Chargers' offense got going early, but numerous corner kicks and shots on goal were either off the mark or turned away by the Eagles' defense. Wayne Country Day's initial fortunes improved in the 14th minute when senior David Wilson scored off a deflection for a 1-0 lead.

After falling behind early, Rosewood (0-3-1) seemed to compose itself and had what proved to be a rare scoring opportunity in the 21st minute on an indirect kick in Wayne Country Day territory. However, much like all of the Eagles' few scoring chances, the indirect went by the wayside.

"Most of our scoring opportunities in the first half were off of corner kicks and we really had no opportunities in the second half," Rosewood coach Daniel Mitchell said. "We just look unorganized today. They beat us to all the 50-50 balls and that's why we did all the defending."

With time winding down in the first half, the Chargers' Will Wolf delivered a blast off a direct kick from about 20 yards out that Rosewood keeper Will Grantham couldn't stop. Wayne Country Day led 2-0 at the break.

"This was nice to see because in our past home games here we got dominated, at least in one of them," Heinemann said. "In this game we seemed to go all out and they went for every ball. I think that (39-2 on shots) says how much pressure we were putting on them."

After a chance to regroup and collectively catch its breath at halftime, Rosewood's offense still seemed to lack life and any sense of togetherness.

Nearly every attempt by the Eagles' to advance the ball down the field resulted in a goal kick or more often than not a loss of possession. Playing its second game in as many days, while fighting through a sweltering heat, certainly didn't do Rosewood any favors.

"We played well (Wednesday) and to come out today, and not play well was a disappointment," Mitchell said. "We've got to learn that we've got to be able to bring our best effort day in and day out. I was hoping for a better response in the second half.

"We really just had no kind of attack today."

Wayne Country day continued to pour on the offensive assault, and in the 59th minute senior Matt Wolf scored on the run after delivering a ball that caromed off the left post and past Grantham for a 3-0 advantage.

E.J. York's goal in the 78th minute put the finishing touches on a performance Heinemann had been eagerly waiting for his club to put together. Helping contribute to Wayne Country Day's 39 shots was an 11-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Equally as important was the Chargers' defense. Heinemann employed a strategy that allowed Rosewood to advance the ball up the field until his midfielders or defenders took the ball away, and instantly created a counter attack by feeding the ball up the field to a forward already in full stride. Rosewood scrambled to recover in most instances.

"Our defense was critical, because the game's we've lost so far have been because of defensive mistakes over and over," Heinemann said. "I feel like we've beaten ourselves because of screw ups we've had defensively, as opposed to just getting beat by incredible offensive plays.

"We worked on defense all week this week...and they seemed to pull it together finally."

Rosewood continues non-conference play at home Monday. WCDS returns to the Coastal Plains Independent 1-A Conference scene with a match Sept. 14 at Faith Christian-Rocky Mount.