AVON — A rough start against the Mooresville Pioneers put Danville’s hopes of advancing to the boy’s soccer sectional finals out of reach. The Pioneers pushed their early lead to a 6-2 win over the Warriors Wednesday night.
“It was a tough loss today, especially with that score line,” Danville coach Drew Brokamp said. “I think (Mooresville) just found our holes today and got through.”
The Pioneers and Warriors were scoreless through the first 15 minutes of the match before Mooresville’s Kyler Smith sent a shot in on Danville’s James Thorpe. Thorpe blocked Smith’s shot, however, the Warriors’ keeper could not hang onto the ball and Mooresville’s Caleb Shaw sent the loose ball in for the score.
Just over five minutes later, Mooresville struck again as Cory Sims connected off of a throw in for a 2-0 lead.
Danville held tough the rest of the half and went into the break trailing by two goals.
Again, after the break, the two teams battled for the first 15 minutes of the half and were scoreless.
Danville’s Dustin Rieser had the Warriors’ best scoring opportunity of the night at the 36:20 mark with a shot that caromed off the crossbar on a breakaway.
The Pioneers again began applying pressure offensively and it was too much for Danville’s defense to handle.
The Pioneers scored three goals in a five minute span and with 20:21 remaining, led 5-0.
But to the Warriors’ credit, they did not give up.
“I was proud of my guys as they kept fighting there toward the end,” Brokamp said. “It’s good to not be shutout.”
On an assist from Turner Perkins, Rieser scored on a diving header with 17:08 remaining. He then ran to the goal, picked up the ball and ran it to midfield for the restart.
“It was great to see, never giving up,” Brokamp said of Rieser’s performance. “To go for a diving header even when you’re down. There’s a lot off spirit there. It’s great to see that.”
But Mooresville answered less than 30 seconds later for a 6-1 advantage.
Rieser score for the second time with under 10 minutes left in the match on another assist from Perkins.
Brokamp pointed to his 10 seniors and their efforts throughout the season as something the team can build upon next year.
“Those seniors have meant a great deal to us this year,” Brokamp said. “I will have been coaching these guys now for two and a half years. It’s great to see them out there fighting for each other. They have been great throughout this year and to see how they’ve grown as players, it’s amazing.
“They showed a lot of great character like they did today. Danville is a lot of times the underdog in our sectional. So, we have to fight and fight for everything. I think that’s what they did today.”
Texas Students Coach Teachers on Fitness
New Forecasting Tool Eyed for Hurricane Season
Meet MJ, the Bike Riding Tabby Cat
Britain Attack Believed Linked to Radical Islam
Raw: Kevin Durant Tours Moore After $1M Pledge
Weiner Launches Bid to Become NYC Mayor
Okla. Teens Get Video of Deadly Tornado Overhead
Man Shot While Questioned in Boston Probe
School Storm Protection Spotty in Tornado Zones
9-year-old Tornado Victim Loved Family, Singing
Moore Native Toby Keith Tours Tornado Damage
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Okla. City Mayor: Up to 13K Homes Hit by Tornado
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future
Florida FBI Shooting Has Boston Bombing Links
Garcetti Elected Los Angeles Mayor Over Greuel
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment
Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case
