Mary Persons boys soccer edges New Hampstead
A three-goal first half had the Mary Persons boys soccer team in the driver’s seat in its first-round GHSA Class AAAA playoff game against New Hampstead.
The way things played out, Mary Persons needed all three of those goals, plus another in the second half, to pull off a 4-3 victory.
A formation change by New Hampstead and some missed second-half opportunities by Mary Persons (15-2-1) turned a potential runaway into a nailbiter. New Hampstead (7-7-1) scored twice in the final 12 minutes to make things interesting in the closing minutes.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Dawson Daniel: Daniel scored twice for Mary Persons, including what turned out to be a critical goal with 24:20 to go off a long free kick from James Davis.
Gabe Phillip: Phillip netted a rebound with 18:44 to go in the first half, and he also had an assist on Daniel’s first goal.
Hamza Abdul-Saif: The New Hampstead senior captain had an assist on the Phoenix’s first goal and made a penalty kick with 6:09 to go to make it 4-3.
OBSERVATIONS
Starting out big: Mary Persons dominated the midfield in the first half, playing some long balls to create scoring opportunities. Alex Rivera scored Mary Persons’ first goal six minutes into the contest when he played a rebound off the keeper, with Phillip and Daniel scoring 6 1/2 minutes apart later in the first half.
Shifting things around: To compensate for Mary Persons’ midfield play, New Hampstead head coach Kalen Pinckney changed formations at halftime, going with a fifth midfielder. That changed the tempo of the contest almost immediately, with Mateo Sanchez scoring 1:39 into the second half.
The comeback: Mary Persons led 4-1 after Daniel’s goal, and it preserved that lead for 13 minutes. New Hampstead cut into that lead with 11:01 to go when Noah Roberts netted a rebound, and a foul from behind in the penalty area set the stage for Abdul-Saif’s successful penalty kick. Both teams had near-misses after that, with Mary Persons goalkeeper Brock Hulsey coming up with a big save with four minutes to go to deny the equalizer.
THEY SAID IT
Daniel on the second half: “They stepped up their game in the second half. They definitely outplayed us in the second half, a lot.”
Mary Persons head coach Allen Luton: “For the most part, we just didn’t put the ball away as good as we are capable of. But it was a decent performance in the first round, and all we care about is, ‘Are we moving on?’ And right now, we’re moving on.”
Pinckney on the second half: “We loaded up the midfield with five, tried to play a little possession and made it a game, but (Daniel) had that awesome goal off that volley in the second half, and that was electric. That was an amazing shot.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Mary Persons takes on the Cross Keys-Pickens County winner Tuesday in the second round.
This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Mary Persons boys soccer edges New Hampstead."