Mustangs win sectional championship for 2nd straight year
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — For the second straight season, the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs are headed back to the district tournament, and for the second time, they've defended the Valley Indians to reach that point of the season.
In what was a very intense match that saw at least five yellow cards and one red card, it was the Mustangs who kept their cool, and in the process defeated the visiting No. 4 Valley squad, 4-2 Wednesday night at LCHS.
The Division III SE District Sectional Final match saw the No. 1 seeded Mustangs struggle in the first half, with the score being in favor of the Indians at 1-0 after 40 minutes of play.
"We were rusty in the first half," LC head coach Dennis West said. "We didn't play a very good game in the first 40 minutes. We struggled mightily to do anything offensively.
"Defensively, the one they got is what happens when you play in the wet and rainy conditions. We've had some go that way for us, and obviously we had some go that way in the second half. Those things happen, and they average out over time."
West spoke about wanting to stop the scorers from Valley.
"We wanted to hold their top scorer out of their offense, and Alex Pinkerton and Austin Chisman did a tremendous job of that. The only goal he got was on a free kick in the second half, and that was just an excellently placed ball."
As for the second half, things got a bit interesting with a few yellow cards being handed out, and with 22:50 left in the match, LC's Noah Scott got past the defense of the Indians and tied the score at 1-1. The assist was from Pinkerton.
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LC took a 2-1 advantage, this time with Pinkerton putting LC out in front with a goal of his own at the 19:58 mark of the second half.
Valley tied the match one minute later with 18:58 on the clock on a free kick, for a 2-2 score.
The Mustangs gained the lead back for good with the Indians giving LC a goal with an own goal with 14:28 remaining in the match. The ball kicked by Tristan Wilbanks was deflected into the net off a defensive stop.
For good measure and a bit of insurance, LC added one final goal with the clock reading 1:29 off a kick from Quintin Smith.
"Our second half, it was just a matter of time before we scored, there was no question about that," West said. "It was one of those things where we were a little over-anxious, and once we got the first goal, it relaxed everybody.
"From there on, I felt like we were in control."
Devin Pierson finished with five saves for the Mustangs, while Valley totaled 11 saves.
LC will play in the district semifinals on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Jackson High School, where they will face the South Webster Jeeps at 1 p.m. SW defeated Portsmouth West by a 4-0 score on Wednesday in their sectional final.
Last season, SW defeated the Mustangs, 2-1 in the district semifinals at JHS.
In what was a very intense match that saw at least five yellow cards and one red card, it was the Mustangs who kept their cool, and in the process defeated the visiting No. 4 Valley squad, 4-2 Wednesday night at LCHS.
The Division III SE District Sectional Final match saw the No. 1 seeded Mustangs struggle in the first half, with the score being in favor of the Indians at 1-0 after 40 minutes of play.
"We were rusty in the first half," LC head coach Dennis West said. "We didn't play a very good game in the first 40 minutes. We struggled mightily to do anything offensively.
"Defensively, the one they got is what happens when you play in the wet and rainy conditions. We've had some go that way for us, and obviously we had some go that way in the second half. Those things happen, and they average out over time."
West spoke about wanting to stop the scorers from Valley.
"We wanted to hold their top scorer out of their offense, and Alex Pinkerton and Austin Chisman did a tremendous job of that. The only goal he got was on a free kick in the second half, and that was just an excellently placed ball."
As for the second half, things got a bit interesting with a few yellow cards being handed out, and with 22:50 left in the match, LC's Noah Scott got past the defense of the Indians and tied the score at 1-1. The assist was from Pinkerton.
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LC took a 2-1 advantage, this time with Pinkerton putting LC out in front with a goal of his own at the 19:58 mark of the second half.
Valley tied the match one minute later with 18:58 on the clock on a free kick, for a 2-2 score.
The Mustangs gained the lead back for good with the Indians giving LC a goal with an own goal with 14:28 remaining in the match. The ball kicked by Tristan Wilbanks was deflected into the net off a defensive stop.
For good measure and a bit of insurance, LC added one final goal with the clock reading 1:29 off a kick from Quintin Smith.
"Our second half, it was just a matter of time before we scored, there was no question about that," West said. "It was one of those things where we were a little over-anxious, and once we got the first goal, it relaxed everybody.
"From there on, I felt like we were in control."
Devin Pierson finished with five saves for the Mustangs, while Valley totaled 11 saves.
LC will play in the district semifinals on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Jackson High School, where they will face the South Webster Jeeps at 1 p.m. SW defeated Portsmouth West by a 4-0 score on Wednesday in their sectional final.
Last season, SW defeated the Mustangs, 2-1 in the district semifinals at JHS.