Darlington teams come up short in opening-round matches
The Tigers and Lady Tigers have their postseason cut short by Pinecrest Academy.
No matter what either team tried to do, whether changing strategies or making a charge to the goal, the first round of the state soccer playoffs did not go well for Darlington.
Despite both teams going undefeated in area play, both Darlington’s boys and girls lost their first round matches Tuesday against Pinecrest Academy. The Lady Tigers fell 2-0 while the boys’ team dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 affair at Chris Hunter Stadium.
It was an abrupt end for two teams that had seemingly resurrected their seasons with each getting wins in four of their last five regular season games.
Pinecrest scored a bizarre goal in the boys’ match when Gabriel Villar’s header off a free kick found the corner of the net in the 37th minute. Darlington coach Kurt Luitwieler said the score was only a matter of time after the Paladins controlled possession for most of the first 40 minutes.
“We did ourselves no favors. We made a mistake late in the first half and that cost us,” Luitwieler said. “Unfortunately our season ends on that, but it is what it is.”
Darlington (7-8-1) displayed more life in the second half, with a header in front of the goal from Pearson just missing its target early in the half. But that became the theme for the half, as chances were either unable to fully developed or stopped by Pinecrest’s defense.
Darlington goalkeeper Phillip Woford had 11 saves, including many down the stretch to keep it a one-goal match. Jack Pearson, Noah Woford and Andre Mbakwe all had chances to score, but the ball never found the net.
“The more chances you get to finish, the more chances you get to score,” Luitwieler said.
“And especially in the first half, our possession was so poor, the mathematics were simply not in our favor. When you lose the ball all the time, you won’t have many possessions.”
The Lady Tigers (6-11) went with another approach in their loss, as they fell back and played defense from the opening kick.
Coach Al Shorey felt that with the talent the Lady Paladins had, the best way Darlington could attack was through defense and countering.
The strategy worked for most of the match until Pinecrest junior Erin Houlihan scored from just inside the box three minutes into the second half.
Pinecrest scored again four minutes later as Darlington goalkeeper Kasey Barnett over pursued a ball and Olivia Gannon scored on an empty net. It was one of Barnett’s few mistakes, as she recorded 12 saves for the Lady Tigers.
Suddenly in a 2-0 hole, Darlington tried its best to push forward and make an effort on offense to tie the game up. But like the boys’ match, the Lady Tigers struggled controlling the ball for long periods and could never produce the chance they wanted.
“Our change in formation definitely disrupted our ability to attack,” Shorey said. “We were trying to attack after two or three passes, but we really did not see the ability to work it downfield and get a sustained attack.”