Kyle Painter is looking at the TCR defense. Photo Cred: Peyton Ash, Watauga Yearbook
Watauga Men’s Varsity Soccer participated in the Mellow Mushroom Tournament on Friday, 8/25, and Saturday, 8/26 in Boone, North Carolina. The first matchup of the tournament for the Pioneers was against Davidson Day School, followed by a game against the T.C. Roberson Rams.
The first game against Davidson Day School resulted in a loss for the Pioneers, the final score being 2-0. The previous game’s goose-egg score had a negative effect on the Pioneers as they faced off against the T.C. Roberson (TCR) Rams in the consolation portion of the tournament, which led the Pioneers to lose 4-3 after a last-second shot put TCR ahead.
Senior Kyle Painter was a pivotal player in the weekend tournament as he faced off against TCR, a team ranked third in the state for Men’s Soccer, as well as battling against Chase Perry, who is ranked top 10 in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) at the 2A level for goals this season, with six.
“He saved our butts like 20 times,” said Stryker Ward, senior. “Even though we lost, he made some really good saves.”
The efficient goalkeeper could not save the day, though, as Watauga was never able to capitalize on his saves versus Davidson Day.
“I thought we played very well in both games. I thought we deserved to win both games, but unfortunately, we lost,” said Ward. “Silly mistakes just led to silly goals, and the other teams took advantage of it.”
Omoladé Oguntoyinbo fighting a TCR defender for the ball. Photo Cred: Peyton Ash, Watauga Yearbook
The loss fueled the Pioneers into the next game against TCR. Watauga started off hot with their first few goals from key seniors, captain Andrew Hill and Omoladé Oguntoyinbo. The Rams would then tally three goals over the Pioneers before a second Watauga goal from Hill tied the game 3-3. During celebrations for Hill’s goal, Watauga’s defense was distracted, allowing TCR to move the ball downfield easily and score with 4.4 seconds remaining in regulation.
“I feel like it's definitely disappointing to lose your own tournament, especially losing the game in the last few moments, but I feel like it showed the character of everybody on the team,” said Painter.
The unsuccessful tournament has prompted the Men’s Soccer team to make some adjustments in their formation as well as work on their shooting.
“[We will work on] a whole lot of shooting. We've also looked a lot at defensive shape and just focusing heavily on first and second defenders,” said Painter. “We've also changed formations following the loss just to see a change-up.”
The new formations are still in the early stages, consisting of four defenders, five midfielders, and one attacker. This formation has seen recent success against R.J. Reynolds, which is considered a respective upset.
“I think it helped us a lot. We beat a really good team using it” said Ward.
The Mellow Mushroom tournament is in the past for the Pioneers, who are seeking significant upsets in the coming weeks against the Lake Norman Wildcats (fifth in the state, 6-0-1) and Cox Mill (4-3).
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