| DISCLAIMER: This is NOT an official website of the Eastern Region and its member schools, this tournament and its organizers, or the Virginia High School League. The purpose of this independent, not for profit site is to inform soccer fans in our community and high schools with the latest news, statistics, and other relevant information regarding this tournament. WEBSITE CREATED AND MAINTAINED BY DOUG RIPLEY - 2007 |
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| Hawks force OT, win in PK's over Raiders Baker's 77th minute strike helps extend Hickory's season to semis Doug Ripley - May 27, 2008 NORFOLK, Va. - Chris Miller's perfectly executed 45-yard diagonal ball found Caleb Baker who drove home the 77th minute equalizer into the left corner of the net, helping extend the Hickory Hawks' season into at least a couple extra frames. After twenty minutes of stalemate soccer in overtime with near-misses by both the Hawks and Warwick Raiders, the Southeastern District Champions came away with the 2-1 advancement via a 7-6 penalty kick shootout Tuesday at the ODU Soccer Stadium. The Raiders played like a team determined to prove itself on the regional stage, and they came away from their second appearance in the Eastern Region Soccer Championships over the past three years with the respect of many participating teams. Combining an athletic attack with some nifty technical skill, Warwick out-shot Hickory 10-6 in the opening half, making some dangerous runs at times. Warwick (12-3-0) nearly connected in the 26th minute on a barage of shots from all angles. Tyree Etienne came open and played a laser toward the frame that Hickory keeper Andrew McMillan batted away with his hands. A quick follow-up shot ensued by Matt Bevins on the near side and McMillan pushed it dangerously across the goal mouth where Etienne had then positioned himself to make another try. His third shot, however, was again unable to pass McMillan who collected his third save in a matter of seconds. Despite the near makes, Warwick would capitalize on their next run five minutes later and take a 1-0 lead into the locker room. Nick Greene slotted a pass from the upper-left portion of the box to the right corner of the six where Sean Dreybus drove home the go-ahead goal. Hickory (13-5-0) would gradually increase the pressure in the second half with five of their eight second half shots heading inside the goal frame, the last proving to level the score. Prior to the score, HIckory's best chance had been a 65th minute far post head by Derek Danner off a David Meadows corner kick that had to be cleared off the line by a Raider defender. The two sides took a conservative approach to the first two overtimes from an attacking standpoint but did pick up the action during the process in the form of physical and even dirty play, resulting in three bookings. Both Jordan Griggs for Hickory and Greene for Warwick had their shot attempts miss right in the third overtime, and the Hawks came out firing in the final five-minute stanza with four shots including three by midfielder Jake Jones that all came dangerously close to putting away the match. The shooters were in control in the early portion of the shootout through the opening two rounds. Then in the third round, Warwick's Ricky Gilliam misfired over and to the right and gave Hickory a temporary advantage. With Hickory dormie to ice the match in the fifth round, Warwick goalkeeper Colin Nickerson came up with a huge play to extend penalties another round, poking a Matt Peters shot off the right post and wide to level the score at four apiece. After a second attempt by Gilliam pushed high in the eighth round of kicks, it was the Hawks striker Griggs who drove the winning foot into the left corner of the net to push Hickory through to the semifinals and a meeting with the Cox Falcons Wednesday at 5:30pm. McMillan earned the victory in goal for Hickory with six saves while Nickerson admirably collected four of the five Warwick saves. |
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| MATCH SUMMARY 2*-1 Hawks advance 7-6 in PK Shootout CLICK HERE FOR FULL BOX SCORE Total Shots Shots on Goal Saves Corner Kicks Fouls Offsides YC-RC |
| Hickory HAWKS (13-5-0) |
| Warwick RAIDERS (12-3-0) |
| 19 6 (McMillan) 6 6 17 0 3-0 |
| GOAL SCORERS 76:24 - Baker (Miller) |
| GOAL SCORERS Dreybus (Greene) - 30:23 |
| 15 7 5 (Nickerson 4, TM 1) 4 13 3 2-0 |
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