The first round of the NCHSAA State 2A Soccer playoffs got underway on Friday night out at Midway High School. The Raiders, representing the number 10 seed, welcomed number 23 North Lenoir into Tommy Sloan Stadium. Unfortunately for the home team, they suffered a second-half collapse and were upset in the first round, 4-3.
A beautiful autumn night set the stage for these two foes, each vying for a spot in next week’s second round game against the winner of Southeast Alamance and Southwest Edgecombe.
The Hawks took the opening kickoff, but it was Midway that quickly stole possession and began to apply pressure. After a couple minutes, North Lenoir settled in and began to turn things the other way. At the 35:40 mark, they generated a shot at the goal that missed just left and the score stayed 0-0.
The Hawks continued to apply a heavy dose of pressure as goalkeeper Keller Godwin was fighting hard for Midway. Suddenly, the Raiders cleared the ball out and were able to get a great opportunity at the other end. The Hawks’ goalkeeper, though, made two outstanding saves to preserve the no-score tie.
Finally, after getting a flurry of corner kicks, Midway connected for a goal as Carson Cain sent the kick inward where Everette Jackson headed the ball in for the first goal of the game. With 26:15 on the clock, the Raiders lead 1-0.
After that, Midway kept the pressure going and generated another goal. Joshua Santillan worked the ball up the right sideline when he passed the ball toward the middle, looking for either Florido — Max or Luis. The pass missed its mark, but Cain was waiting in the background to clean it up, firing it in for the goal. Now at the 23:35 mark, the Raiders led 2-0.
The Hawks, though, didn’t panic and continued to battle. They took advantage of a big miscue on Midway’s part and won the foot race to a loose ball down in the Raiders’ defensive zone. With only Godwin left between them and the goal, North Lenoir got the ball through for the score, making it 2-1 with 16:34 left in the first half.
As the clock wound, the battle stretched the length of the field and suddenly momentum was riding with the Hawks. Midway was constantly fending off shots as they were scrapping to maintain their lead.
The Raiders finally caught a break late in the first half when North Lenoir was assessed a hand-ball penalty inside the box. Now with a chance on a penalty-kick, Midway had the opportunity to extend their lead again. Luis Florido stepped up and delivered the shot, which snuck in past the Hawks’ goalkeeper for the score. With 2:36 left in the half, Midway led 3-1.
That was the halftime score as the teams broke for intermission.
When play resumed, the battle continued to wage on both ends of the field. Neither team enjoyed success in terms of controlling the tempo as each created solid chances. With 36:16 left in the game, fortune found North Lenoir as the Hawks fired a shot from long range for another goal, bringing the score close again at 3-2.
A couple minutes later, the Raiders had another penalty kick opportunity but the ball sailed over the net. North Lenoir cleared the ball out and got a great bounce that Maddox Smith got to first. From there, it was a race to the goal and Smith got the shot through for a goal, tying things up at 3-3 with 33:00 to go in regulation.
Momentum had now crossed over to the Hawks’ side as Midway came out seemingly flat-footed in the second half. Another penalty kick for the Raiders ricocheted off the crossbar at 31:05, a perfect resemblance of how the second half was going for them, and the score remained 3-3.
After that, though the game was hotly contested in the midfield, it was North Lenoir that was now generating all the scoring chances as Midway was fighting to not fall behind.
Around the 23:00 mark, the Raiders finally caught a little spark and began to work on the Hawks’ defense. North Lenoir absorbed the effort, though, and got right back to getting pressure of their own.
As the clock dipped below 20:00, the Hawks thwarted another PK from Midway and the 3-3 score was holding. The battle continued to wage as the teams fought hard for the go-ahead goal. The defenses were working overtime as they also were fighting to keep the opposition from getting a goal.
Energy slowly drifted back to Midway’s side as the Raiders began to apply pressure. They frequently got assaults on the goal but they couldn’t get one to get through. When the clock hit zeroes, neither team could punch one in and the game was headed into overtime.
At the 7:39 mark in overtime, Midway avoided an extremely costly mistake after miscommunication in the defense left a wide-open goal. North Lenoir got through for the goal but after a meeting between the sideline and center referees, the call was made that the Hawks were offside and the score remained 3-3.
After that, the first 10 minute period went by quickly and the score was still locked at 3-3. With that, the game moved into its second 10 minutes of overtime.
In the next session, North Lenoir maintained offensive pressure and again generated another shot. With a tussle unfolding in front of the goal, the Hawks got a shot opportunity that was absorbed by Godwin, keeping the score at 3-3 with 3:47 left in the second overtime. With 58.3 left, though, the Hawks finally got one through that did count, putting North Lenoir up 4-3. That score held up as the Hawks went on to upset Midway, 4-3.
With the loss, the Raiders’ season ends in the first round with a final record of 15-5-1.