Staff Writer
The
Apex Men’s soccer team defeated the Sanderson Spartans in the first round of
the state playoffs on Wednesday night by a score of 3-0.
With
the pouring rain during warm-ups and the quickly falling temperature, both fans
and players were preparing for a long night in Apex. But just after the
Spartans and Cougars got underway, the rain stopped and the home fans were
treated to a victorious game.
The
Cougars were looking to avenge a 1-0 loss they suffered to Sanderson in the
Wake County Cup early in the season. “We were confident from the beginning that
we would win,” said senior Jordan Koonts. “We knew that when they beat us in
the Wake County Cup semi’s that we were the better team, and we adjusted to how
they played the first time.” That is exactly what Apex did controlling the
majority of the possession in the first half. The first goal came on a
beautiful header by junior Patrick Bailey in the 21st minute. The
goal was initiated by a terrific cross by senior forward Jake Grieco.
Apex
took a 1-0 lead into halftime but came out of the half a little sluggish.
Sanderson had plenty of chances in the second half, but each and every time
junior goalkeeper Corey Vodicka would shut the door. Halfway through the second
half, Sanderson had their best chance for an equalizer; but Vodicka made a
sensational finger-tip save off the cross-bar. Later, senior Alex Stewart gave
the Cougars much needed insurance after a great pass from Grieco. The icing on
the cake came with less than a minute to go as Grieco scored a breakaway goal
to secure the playoff win 3-0.
Due
to a stunning early exit in the first round of last year’s playoffs, the
Cougars were excited to get this win. “Many of us were on the team when we went
out first round last year and we were determined to not repeat that,” Koonts
said.
The
Cougars move on to the second round and will play at New Bern on Saturday
night. Koonts and the rest of the team are confident the team can make a
statement, “Going in to New Bern we have several key players returning from
injury, and we are confident and ready to make a statement, not only for Apex
High, but the SWAC conference as a whole.”
