| YOUR STARTING POINT FOR HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER IN VIRGINIA'S GROUP AAA EASTERN REGION |
| EASTERN REGION BOYS SOCCER SEMIFINAL RECAP Hickory reaches milestone in win v. Kellam Griggs� 8th minute goal puts Hawks into Friday�s ER final Doug Ripley - May 27, 2009 BOX SCORE NORFOLK � For the Hickory Hawks, the 11th time�s the charm. Hickory, the Southeastern District Champions in either the regular season and or postseason for as many years, will be making its first ever trip to the VHSL Group AAA Boys Soccer Championship in 2009. The Hawks defeated the Kellam Knights 1-0 to also advance to Friday�s Eastern Region final at 7:30pm. The Hawks (14-4-1) struck in the eighth minute when Jake Jones, positioned outside the top of the box, received a feed from the left side of midfield and played a short touch up to Jordan Griggs who was running parallel with the last defender. Griggs tapped in his eighth goal of the season past the left side of Kellam keeper Kyle Vanwerkhoven. Kellam (16-2-2), playing in its fifth match in eight days, felt the effects of too much football in too few days, The Knights weren�t on their game in yesterday�s 2-0 quarterfinal and, when combined with many of them competing in Memorial Day club ball over the weekend, didn�t fare any better against Hickory, trailing a half-step behind at many points. Still, Kellam managed to out-shoot Hickory 12-8 including 7-2 in the second half and put the pressure on Hickory as the final whistle approached. With the Knights primarily looking to Jordan Grumney for answers offensively in the middle of the attacking third, the Hawks, which made frequent substitutions, were able to contain an exhausted Kellam side by clearing the ball out of danger. That is, all but one moment during the 72nd minute when Kellam was attacking from the left touchline. Ryan Curtis chipped a short ball up to Grumney who was holding off a Hawk defender with his left arm. Grumney stuck out his other hand to balance and the ball hit off his upper arm and back to an oncoming Curtis who tapped the ball inside the right post. Shortly after the ball had crossed the line, the goal was called back when it was determined by the officials that Grumney used his right arm to direct the ball to Curtis. Hickory keeper Andrew McMillan earned the clean sheet while recording five saves. Vanwerkhoven also collected five saves for Kellam. Falcons return to final by blanking Grizzlies Oakes nets two for Cox who scored all goals in second half BOX SCORE NORFOLK � While Hickory will be competing in its first Eastern Region final this Friday, its opponent will make its third consecutive Regional final appearance and 19th in program history. The Cox Falcons continued defense of its 2008 Eastern Region crown by out-possessing the Grassfield Grizzlies on its way to a 3-0 result at Powhatan Field. The Falcons and Hawks will meet for the second time this season at 7:30pm to decide who will host a state quarterfinal and who will have to visit the Northwest Region champs. Cox defeated Hickory 3-0 on their home ground back in late March. Participating in a drastically slower-paced match than their counterparts a night earlier, Cox (17-2-1) exerted a low level of energy by keeping the ball in space and off the feet of the Grizzlies who were coming off a fast-paced win over Maury. Cox nearly took the lead in the 20th minute when Hunter Byrnes drove home a blocked shot from Ryan Oakes but he was flagged by the assistant referee for being offside. The patient Falcons would get on the board early in the second half and deflate the Grizzlies' chances for gaining another shot at Hickory. Deep in the left flank, Paul Braunstein played a cross to the far post. Byrnes headed it down toward Oakes at the near post to tap it past goalkeeper Michael Eberhardt for the match winner. Cox�s first insurance goal coming in the 70th minute was surprising. Taking a free kick a few yards away from the left corner flag, defender Chris Albiston played a curving ball toward the far right post. When no Falcons could lay a head on the cross, the ball pinged off the far post and into the net, putting the silent patrons in attendance at Powhatan Field into temporary shock. Oakes would close the deal for Cox in the 77th minute when he streaked up the middle of the field, taking a loose deflection from a Grassfield defender, and beating Eberhardt as he walked the ball into the net. The Falcons held a 26-14 lead in shots over Grassfield. Jon Harris with the Falcon shutout while getting five saves. Eberhardt came up with six saves for the Grizzlies who completed its first Regional appearance with a record of 14-5-1. |
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