Saints turn back Golden Falcons, 3-1, in soccer

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on September 13, 2013 1:48 PM

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DUDLEY -- Southern Wayne looked fresh and ready to open Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference play on Thursday night.

Charles B. Aycock looked like a tired team playing its third game in as many nights.

The Saints won 3-1 at the Doyle Whitfield Athletic Complex.

"It was good for us to open conference play with a win," Southern Wayne head coach Mario Aguilar said. "The guys wanted this one and it showed on the field."

Southern Wayne jumped in front 1-0 in the fifth minute when Desir Deufort rose over a Golden Falcon defender and got a foot on a crossing pass from Billy Gonzalez and put it in the net.

The rest of the first half was a back-and-forth battle with few scoring chances for either side.

C.B. Aycock evened the score in the 64th minute when Chris Smith fired a pass across the goal mouth and found Dallen Eward for a quick strike.

The Saints wasted no time regaining the momentum. Ulysses Ramirez collected a pass from Gonzalez and beat the C.B. Aycock keeper to make 2-1.

"We scored to tie it, but the wave of energy never really came for us," Golden Falcons assistant coach Byron Adkins said. "Tonight was our third game in three days and I think we were honestly exhausted there in the last few minutes."

Southern Wayne (3-1-0 overall, 1-0-0 ECC) got an insurance goal in the 79th minute when Marco Perez collected a loose ball in front of the net and punched it into the net to complete the 3-1 final.

Each team finished with eight shots on goal. The Golden Falcons were awarded five corner kicks to just three for the Saints.

"You have to give Southern Wayne a ton of credit," Adkins said. "Their forwards possessed the ball and they kept the pressure on. They deserved to win."

Southern Wayne visits Kinston for a non-conference game on Monday. C.B. Aycock (3-4-0, 0-2-0) plays host to J.H. Rose on Tuesday.