BOX SCORE

Doug Ripley - May 29, 2009

NORFOLK – New coach, same result for the Cox Falcons in 2009.

Scott Mead’s young Falcons, featuring just three seniors in the starting 11, captured their program’s second straight Eastern Region Boys Soccer Championship and 11th all-time by beating the Hickory Hawks 3-0 at Powhatan Field.

The Falcons host Northwest Region Runner-Up Gar-Field on Tuesday night beginning at 7:30pm, also at Powhatan Field.  Hickory will make its State Tournament debut also on Tuesday when it heads to Roanoke to face Patrick Henry.

Cox (18-2-1), who had also defeated Hickory 3-0 back on March 24, continued to do what had gotten them to this point of the postseason – out-possess the opposition and attack at will.  They did it without its full starting lineup since the end of the regular season thanks to a string of minor illnesses and injuries to different players.

As a result, the Falcons have looked elsewhere for results and have gotten it from different sources.  In Friday’s final, Cox received key production from reserve striker Paul Braunstein.

Despite this, it was Hickory (14-5-1) who wanted to be the aggressor early, desperately in search of the match’s first goal.  Ryan Ketchmark’s blocked header and a Jake Jones attempt missing just right of the frame in the first four minutes was proof that Hickory meant business as the match opened.

Braunstein first played a left side cross to Martin in the sixth minute who was all alone but he chested it out of his reach instead of down for a shot. 

He was then on the receiving end of a near-fatal mistake by the Hickory midfield two minutes later.  Alex Baumgardner, looking to push the ball toward the touchline, didn’t see Cox midfielder Hunter Byrnes in his peripheral line.  Byrnes took the ball quickly up the right side of the pitch and wanted to play a touch to Braunstein on the far post but his service took a more direct line toward Hawks goalkeeper Andrew McMillan.

Cox midfielder Eric Bird also wanted to get the Falcons on the board in the 14th when he unloaded a shot from 30 yards that was bumped out of play by McMillan for a corner.  After Hickory attempted to clear the corner kick at the near post, defender Chris Albiston collapsed toward the right side of the field and took a chance from 27 yards, also saved by McMillan.

While Cox responded to three early Hickory shots with seven straight of their own, the Hawks were far from shut-out of their attacking third for much of the night.

Hickory’s best chance of the game to score was cut short three minutes later.  Jordan Griggs heaved a long throw into the middle of the box.  After the Cox defense tried to clear the throw-in, Baumgardner hit a hard-spun ball to the right of the post.  Trying to judge the spin, Cox goalkeeper Jon Harris tried to make a move toward the ball after it hit the FieldTurf pitch. 

That was before Hickory defender Derek Danner came from behind and forced a collision between Harris and defender Neil Harrison – a collision that appeared certain to happen even if Danner hadn’t expedited it with the contact as the ball was ready for the taking within the six-yard box.

The Hawks would wish they had been able to capitalize on the near-defensive error when Cox struck in the 21st minute.  Byrnes played a cross from deep in the right flank that a defender was unable to settle. 

Instead, the ball scooted toward the upper-left corner of the box at a slow enough pace for Braunstein to catch up, pivot and fire with his right foot inside the right post.

Looking to level the match, Griggs hit a free kick with pace toward the upper half of the goal.  Jumping up over traffic to bump the ball out of danger, Harris took a hard shot to the head, falling to the ground briefly disabled.  Harrison was there to thwart the second attempt from the Hawks to score on the near-empty net of Cox.

The Hawks were back on the offensive in the 35th when Jones, coming from the right, attempted to chip a dangerous ball to Griggs who was all alone on the run.  Then, on another Griggs long throw toward the far right post, Danner had a clear shot on the net but headed the ball right into the hands of Harris.

Danner reacted in disgust shortly after his header was saved as he was probably thinking Cox could get another goal before the break and put his Hawks further in a hole. 

The Falcons did just that in the 38th minute.  David Ellis scored as a direct result of a shot by Byrnes on the opposite side of the goal mouth that was deflected straight to the freshman.

Hickory would not go down without swinging as the second half began.  The Hawks and Falcons traded possessions in the early portion of the half, beginning in the 43rd minute when, shortly after a stoppage of play, the Hawks restarted quickly up the right side with a ball played up for Griggs.  The Hickory striker couldn’t come up with a touch as it went out of bounds for a goal kick.

A minute later, Byrnes, off feed from middle, took a shot right into the diving hands of McMillan who then crawled and collected the ball before Braunstein could come in from the left and try to get his second goal of the night.

Things really got interesting in the 47th minute when, on a Cox corner kick, both Ellis and Ryan Oakes, who played at stopper for much of the night in place of Saunders, couldn’t put the ball through McMillan and the Hickory defenders who cleared it out of harm’s way.

A possession later, Hickory defender David Meadows found himself at the front of a charge but his shot was saved by Harris.  Cox was on the counter as Ellis had a shot pushed wide by McMillan for a corner.

Fireworks became more spaced over the ensuing minutes.  In the 53rd minute, Braunstein played a high hooking cross from the left toward the far post of the goal where Ellis stood, ready to leap and head home the ball.  The ball over-shot the rising head of Ellis as it went out for a goal kick.

Hickory would make three more legitimate chances to take a goal and momentum back down 2-0 but the Hawks couldn’t put the ball on frame.  Baumgardner missed an open look high near top of box in the 58th and Lipps lifted the ball over the bar off a great ball played from the right touchline a minute later.

But the best chance Hickory had left in its arsenal was in the 61st minute when Jones made a great tap up the right side to Griggs who found himself near the end-line to the right of the goal.  With options of crossing it into the heart of the box or run up the line and try to slide it in the net himself, Griggs couldn’t do neither as Harrison cleared it out of the box for Cox.

Hickory would find it difficult to mount a charge the remainder of the match, especially after the 69th minute when Caleb Baker was sent off after denying a goal scoring opportunity for a Cox striker.

The Falcons would cap off its second consecutive title soon after, as David Ellis, positioned steps from the right end-line, tapped the ball to Martin who promptly slid in his 12th goal of the season.

Cox finished the match with a 21-14 shot advantage.  McMillan would end the match with nine saves while Harris picked up his second straight shutout with three stops.