North Cross jumped out to a 2-0 first half lead and held off a furious second-half charge, as the Raiders won the Viginia Independent Conference Soccer Champioship 2-1 over the Carlisle Chiefs Saturday afternoon at Thomas Field.
It was all North Cross in the first half as the Raider offensive pressure had Carlisle on their heels. Prolific North Cross scorer Ezra Zigarwi opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a header under the crossbar from point-blank range.
Zigarwi put the Raiders up 2-0 nine minutes later with a blast from the left side that gave North Cross a cushion it would need heading into the second half.
Carlisle came out with offensive pressure to start the final half, and the Chief’s efforts paid dividends when they scored on a redirected header off a penalty kick in the 66th minute that cut the deficit to 2-1.
“The 2-0 lead was great, but we knew Carlisle was going to bring the offensive pressure,” North Cross Head Coach James Brown said afterward. “They are a very good team.”
The invigorated Carlisle squad had fourteen minutes left to look for the tieing goal, and the Chiefs were relentless.
Raider goalkeeper Bennett Holley was kept busy the rest of the way, as Carlisle overplayed the box looking for the equalizer.
Things almost went the Chief’s way in the final minute when a shot from short range clanged off the right goal post and away from the net.
“My heart sank,” Brown admitted when the late Carlisle blast hit the pipe. Brown, the former trainer for the Roanoke Express ice hockey team, has seen his share of pucks hit the post, only to carom into the twine. This time, the bounce went the Raiders’ way.
North Cross remained perfect on the season at 21-0, and will now await the state pairings, set to begin November 5th.
Carlisle fell to 16-3, with two of those losses coming from North Cross. A third matchup for all the marbles may well be on the horizon.
BILL TURNER match story/photo
