By Joe Walter
On March 2, the Pike County Pirates varsity soccer teams tested themselves against a bigger school in preparation for the playoffs, taking on 7A East Coweta Indians on a 38 degree, rain soaked evening in Sharpsburg. The Lady Pirates squad gave their best effort against a very physical Lady Indians squad. Despite their best efforts, the Lady Pirates fell to the Lady Indians 3-0, including receiving some flying fists late in the game. Many of the Lady Pirates sat through the rain to watch the Pirates face the same uphill climb against the East Coweta boys. The Pirates were able to keep it close through most of the game, enduring the elements and a skilled opponent. A foul in the penalty box late in the first half drew a penalty kick, which the Indians converted making the score 1-0 in favor of the home team. The Pirates continued to do their best in the second half to equalize, but could not get a shot past the keeper. East Coweta managed a garbage goal with a minute left in the second half to win 2-0. The Pirates headed back to Pike County to warm up and dry off.
Pirates soccer second in state AAA, Lady Pirates seventh
The Pirates traveled to Fort Valley on Friday, March 5 to take on their region rivals, the Peach County Trojans, on a night that, for once, was not bitterly cold and/or raining. The Lady Pirates easily handled their opponent, mercy-ruling the Lady Trojans 10-0 with 20 minutes left in the contest, which allowed some time for rest. Multiple players scored and no players seemed to get injured, which is always a good thing.
The boys match was certainly full of all the excitement, bravado and chippy play that you would expect of a rivalry match. The Trojans had many skilled players and also had a very partisan home crowd, which made the sidelines very interesting for the traveling fans and players. Both teams came out playing fast soccer, but the Pirates were able to score first, with Christian Fowler pouncing on a deflection in the goal box at 24 minutes. Allen Davis followed up a few minutes later with a close in goal off a set piece to increase the lead to 2-0 and Jake Richardson converted a Matt Webb cross before half time to make the count 3-0 in favor of the visitors. The Trojans pulled on back at 62 minutes with a close range shot. However, on the ensuing kickoff, the Pirates pulled out their bag of tricks and scored a goal from the half line, with Brance Mann distracting the Trojans and Matt Webb then taking the shot which sailed over the Trojans keeper’s head into the goal, increasing the lead to 4-1. Pirates’ fans will remember a similar trick from a few years ago against Peach where Matt Webb’s brother Blake and Davis York combined to break the Trojans’ hearts with a game ending half field shot from kickoff. The game seemed to grow even more intense after this goal and Peach lost a player to a red card and finished the game with 10 players. Christian Fowler increased the lead to 5-1 for the Pirates at 65 minutes with a tap of a deflected shot. The Pirates were able to play some of their bench and rest starters. Peach was able to score a second goal at 77 minutes off a breakaway, but the Pirates were able to snuff out any further challenges and cruised out of Fort Valley with a 5-2 region victory.
The Pirates hosted Mt. De Sales Academy of Macon on Tuesday, March 9 for what turned into another memorable set of games, for very different reasons. The girl’s game was a tough watch for the home fans for most of the match, with the Lady Cavaliers holding a 1-0 lead for most of the game. The Lady Pirates never gave up and the experience of the seniors on the team helped keep things from getting worse for the home side. In a last ditch attack with under a minute left, senior Anna Chasteen took a long shot which dropped in the top right corner of the goal to even the score at 1-1 with 11 seconds left. The Lady Cavaliers were too stunned to do anything else and the Lady Pirates were happy to have grabbed a point at the end.
The boys’ game quickly turned into an alley fight, which, at the end, left both teams with 10 players on the field due to red cards (you start out with 11 players a side at this level), multiple yellow cards for both teams and two parents escorted from the stadium for their behavior. Matt Webb scored the first of his four goals at 5 minutes off an Ozzie O’Steen throw in. Pirates 1-0. Matt followed up with his second goal off a free kick at 13 minutes to increase the lead to 2-0, then added a third goal at 27 minutes from the left side and scored his fourth goal off a corner kick at 33 minutes. The Pirates went into half time with a 4-0 lead; however play on the field continued to get more physical as the game went on and you felt things were going to get uglier in the second half.
As it so happened, things did get uglier in the second half. The fouls continued and tension increased. Mt. De Sales scored off a free kick at 51 minutes and seemed to gain the momentum. Shortly after, Pike lost a player to a straight red card and the Cavaliers scored a second goal at 55 minutes to make the score 4-2. Allen Davis redirected a corner kick in the net with his head at 67 minutes, which increased the lead to 5-2 and Pike regained the momentum. The Cavilers started to crumble at this point and lost a player to a red card for denying a goal scoring chance. Jake Richardson scored off a Matt Webb corner at 72 minutes to increase the lead to 6-2 for Pike and then Matt Smith scored a tap in at 77 minutes to close out the Cavaliers 7-2.
Friday, March 12 saw the Pirates host the Americus-Sumter Panthers in a region contest. The Lady Pirates had the night off because the Panthers do not have a girls’ soccer program. The crowd was subdued after the fracas with Mt. De Sales Academy earlier in the week. The Panthers only brought one substitute and it was quickly apparent that they would be no match for the Pirates. Matt Webb scored at 3 minutes off a deflected ball to give the Pirates the lead 1-0. Christian Fowler added a goal at 7 minutes off of a Matt Webb assist to increase the lead to 2-0. Matt Webb scored his second goal at 15 minutes from the left side and the Pirates started subbing in players to keep their legs fresh for the play off push. The first half ended with the Pirates leading 3-0. The Panthers had skill in certain areas, but could not hold onto the ball long enough to pose a serious threat. Only one minute had elapsed in the second half when Allen Davis scored a banger of a goal from outside the box to increase the lead to 4-0 and Jake Richardson added a goal at 50 minutes off a Matt Webb corner to cap the scoring at 5-0 for the Pirates. The final 30 minutes saw more Pirates get playing time and several more scoring chances were created. Pike Soccer’s Fury teams provided ball handling for the match and that brought out lots of family to enjoy an entertaining game.
The Pirates traveled to Ed Defore Sports Complex on Monday, March 15 to face the Central Macon Chargers on a small turf field. The turf posed more of a problem than the Chargers. The Lady Pirates easily defeated the Lady Chargers and the game ended after one half 10-0.
The boys’ game followed a similar pattern. The Chargers had some fast players and played as best as they could, but only a few had any soccer experience and the game ended 11-0 after only one half. The Pirates were able to rotate in players again and multiple Pirates scored. Matt Webb continued his goal scoring tear with four more goals, Jake Richardson added two goals, Victor Avila, Allen Davis, Lautic Fordham, Christian Fowler and Brance Mann also scored goals for the Pirates. Senior keeper Ryan Brooks did not dress out for the game, but had to pull emergency duty after keeper Luke Mann collided with a Central player in the only serious scoring threat of the night from Central Macon. The ball squirted out of Luke’s hands but senior defender Stephen Walter cleared the ball off the goal line to save the clean sheet for the Pirates. The Pirates were able to stave off any more Central Macon threats and left Macon with only a few bruises and one nasty turf burn.
The Pirates are now 10-1-1 and ranked second in the state in AAA and the Lady Pirates are 7-2-2 and ranked seventh in the state in AAA. The Pirates will face region opponents Upson-Lee on Friday, March 26 which is also Senior Night.
The boys match was certainly full of all the excitement, bravado and chippy play that you would expect of a rivalry match. The Trojans had many skilled players and also had a very partisan home crowd, which made the sidelines very interesting for the traveling fans and players. Both teams came out playing fast soccer, but the Pirates were able to score first, with Christian Fowler pouncing on a deflection in the goal box at 24 minutes. Allen Davis followed up a few minutes later with a close in goal off a set piece to increase the lead to 2-0 and Jake Richardson converted a Matt Webb cross before half time to make the count 3-0 in favor of the visitors. The Trojans pulled on back at 62 minutes with a close range shot. However, on the ensuing kickoff, the Pirates pulled out their bag of tricks and scored a goal from the half line, with Brance Mann distracting the Trojans and Matt Webb then taking the shot which sailed over the Trojans keeper’s head into the goal, increasing the lead to 4-1. Pirates’ fans will remember a similar trick from a few years ago against Peach where Matt Webb’s brother Blake and Davis York combined to break the Trojans’ hearts with a game ending half field shot from kickoff. The game seemed to grow even more intense after this goal and Peach lost a player to a red card and finished the game with 10 players. Christian Fowler increased the lead to 5-1 for the Pirates at 65 minutes with a tap of a deflected shot. The Pirates were able to play some of their bench and rest starters. Peach was able to score a second goal at 77 minutes off a breakaway, but the Pirates were able to snuff out any further challenges and cruised out of Fort Valley with a 5-2 region victory.
The Pirates hosted Mt. De Sales Academy of Macon on Tuesday, March 9 for what turned into another memorable set of games, for very different reasons. The girl’s game was a tough watch for the home fans for most of the match, with the Lady Cavaliers holding a 1-0 lead for most of the game. The Lady Pirates never gave up and the experience of the seniors on the team helped keep things from getting worse for the home side. In a last ditch attack with under a minute left, senior Anna Chasteen took a long shot which dropped in the top right corner of the goal to even the score at 1-1 with 11 seconds left. The Lady Cavaliers were too stunned to do anything else and the Lady Pirates were happy to have grabbed a point at the end.
The boys’ game quickly turned into an alley fight, which, at the end, left both teams with 10 players on the field due to red cards (you start out with 11 players a side at this level), multiple yellow cards for both teams and two parents escorted from the stadium for their behavior. Matt Webb scored the first of his four goals at 5 minutes off an Ozzie O’Steen throw in. Pirates 1-0. Matt followed up with his second goal off a free kick at 13 minutes to increase the lead to 2-0, then added a third goal at 27 minutes from the left side and scored his fourth goal off a corner kick at 33 minutes. The Pirates went into half time with a 4-0 lead; however play on the field continued to get more physical as the game went on and you felt things were going to get uglier in the second half.
As it so happened, things did get uglier in the second half. The fouls continued and tension increased. Mt. De Sales scored off a free kick at 51 minutes and seemed to gain the momentum. Shortly after, Pike lost a player to a straight red card and the Cavaliers scored a second goal at 55 minutes to make the score 4-2. Allen Davis redirected a corner kick in the net with his head at 67 minutes, which increased the lead to 5-2 and Pike regained the momentum. The Cavilers started to crumble at this point and lost a player to a red card for denying a goal scoring chance. Jake Richardson scored off a Matt Webb corner at 72 minutes to increase the lead to 6-2 for Pike and then Matt Smith scored a tap in at 77 minutes to close out the Cavaliers 7-2.
Friday, March 12 saw the Pirates host the Americus-Sumter Panthers in a region contest. The Lady Pirates had the night off because the Panthers do not have a girls’ soccer program. The crowd was subdued after the fracas with Mt. De Sales Academy earlier in the week. The Panthers only brought one substitute and it was quickly apparent that they would be no match for the Pirates. Matt Webb scored at 3 minutes off a deflected ball to give the Pirates the lead 1-0. Christian Fowler added a goal at 7 minutes off of a Matt Webb assist to increase the lead to 2-0. Matt Webb scored his second goal at 15 minutes from the left side and the Pirates started subbing in players to keep their legs fresh for the play off push. The first half ended with the Pirates leading 3-0. The Panthers had skill in certain areas, but could not hold onto the ball long enough to pose a serious threat. Only one minute had elapsed in the second half when Allen Davis scored a banger of a goal from outside the box to increase the lead to 4-0 and Jake Richardson added a goal at 50 minutes off a Matt Webb corner to cap the scoring at 5-0 for the Pirates. The final 30 minutes saw more Pirates get playing time and several more scoring chances were created. Pike Soccer’s Fury teams provided ball handling for the match and that brought out lots of family to enjoy an entertaining game.
The Pirates traveled to Ed Defore Sports Complex on Monday, March 15 to face the Central Macon Chargers on a small turf field. The turf posed more of a problem than the Chargers. The Lady Pirates easily defeated the Lady Chargers and the game ended after one half 10-0.
The boys’ game followed a similar pattern. The Chargers had some fast players and played as best as they could, but only a few had any soccer experience and the game ended 11-0 after only one half. The Pirates were able to rotate in players again and multiple Pirates scored. Matt Webb continued his goal scoring tear with four more goals, Jake Richardson added two goals, Victor Avila, Allen Davis, Lautic Fordham, Christian Fowler and Brance Mann also scored goals for the Pirates. Senior keeper Ryan Brooks did not dress out for the game, but had to pull emergency duty after keeper Luke Mann collided with a Central player in the only serious scoring threat of the night from Central Macon. The ball squirted out of Luke’s hands but senior defender Stephen Walter cleared the ball off the goal line to save the clean sheet for the Pirates. The Pirates were able to stave off any more Central Macon threats and left Macon with only a few bruises and one nasty turf burn.
The Pirates are now 10-1-1 and ranked second in the state in AAA and the Lady Pirates are 7-2-2 and ranked seventh in the state in AAA. The Pirates will face region opponents Upson-Lee on Friday, March 26 which is also Senior Night.
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