pursuit
Varsity Boy's Soccer Wins State Championship
A hard-fought win over the state's leading offense from Lee Christian during the quarter-final round would be the last game that the Warriors would play on their home turf. The Warriors were headed for a showdown with the Eastern Region's #1 seed and defending back-to-back state champions, the Wake Christian Academy Bulldogs. Benton Tuck put ACS in the lead less than two minutes into the game. A see-saw struggle through the end of regulation followed a game-tying goal by Wake. Seven minutes into the first of two ten-minute over-times, Blake Marley sent a cross from Lance Wilson into the Bulldogs' net. Five minutes into the second over-time, Benton Tuck sealed the deal with a bomb from long range. Victory! Exhaustion! The Raleigh Christian Eagles, who in the earlier game had upset the Western Region's #1 seed, Grace Christian, with a score of 2-0, would be waiting for us at noon the next day.
Twenty-five minutes into the championship match, RCA delivered a hard, low cross that glanced off a player and into the Warriors' net to give RCA a 1-0 half-time lead. After ten minutes of end-to-end play, Jon Racke headed a corner kick from Ethan Massey into the Eagles' nest. Tie score! In spite of the burst of energy this gave to us, the grueling match against Wake on Friday slowly started taking its toll. Eight more minutes of struggle and Racke sent Lance Wilson's cross "home" to give us a 2-1 lead. Two minutes later, RCA floated one off the outstretched hands of keeper Lance Brown to knot the score for the second time. With twelve minutes left Ethan Massey sent the ball up the line to Benton Tuck who freed himself from a tight mark and launched a left-footed cross into the Bulldogs' box where Zack Hales headed it in for what would hold up to be the game-winner. State Champs! Pandemonium! Exhaustion! Shared memories! Gratitude for a season finale' that we pray glorified God. Thank you, seniors, for leading the way as we grew and battled together. You finished with a win of 3-2!