BOX SCORE

from Eastern Region Soccer Online

NORFOLK – Chris Whiteside broke open 57 minutes of scoreless soccer between Cox and Warwick in Tuesday’s nightcap with a pair of goals within five minutes.  The Falcons (16-2-1) hung on to escape the quarterfinal round a 2-1 victor over the Raiders.

Warwick (10-5-3), who patiently dictated the pace of play for much of the night, kept the Falcons off the board by denying them opportunities to finish any services within grasp of Raiders goalkeeper JC Griggs.

That forced the Falcons, who played without starting midfielders Eric Bird and Trey Saunders, to look outside the box for scoring opportunities.

Whiteside would capitalize on a pair of those rare opportunities.  The midfielder, one of three senior starters for the Falcons, had one goal on the season and three for his three years playing varsity before coming up big in the scoring column for Cox Tuesday.

His first came when he found space 25 yards out.  Whiteside fired a left-footed ball toward Griggs in the middle of the goal, but the keeper couldn’t stop the momentum of the shot.  It was just enough to move through his hands and just across the goal line.

Whiteside then logged the eventual match winner in the 62nd minute by moving away from the right corner flag, squaring and firing the ball into the far-left side netting.

Warwick would re-apply the pressure on the Falcons ten minutes later when Paul Dreybus found Devonte Hunt open on the right side.  Two touches later, Hunt skidded the ball into the far-left corner of the net.

The Falcons would hold their lead to the final whistle as they out-shot Warwick 16-9.  Jon Harris collected three saves for Cox while Griggs had four saves for Warwick.