The Catawba Ridge Copperheads rolled to a 6-2 win over local rival Nation Ford in front of a rain-drenched home crowd at The Pit Tuesday night in Fort Mill.
Both teams played through dismal weather conditions in the non-region match-up. The heavens opened up shortly before kick-off, and buckets of rain fell on players and spectators alike throughout the night.
Caden Tull, Kohen Kozel, and Evan Serkin were among the goal scorers for the Copperheads, which improved to 7-2 overall, and scored all six of their goals in the first half.
Senior striker Brecken Carrieri scored both Falcons’ goals, but Catawba Ridge was quick to respond. Nation Ford fell to 5-5-1 on the season.
Catawba Ridge head coach Philip McCarter said his team had a plan to pressure Nation Ford high up the pitch and refuse to let the visitors threaten their own half.
“I was happy,” he said. “We had a gameplan, and we stuck to it. We created opportunities, and when the field conditions are like this, you don’t want the ball in our own end.”
Catawba Ridge, which won the Region 3-4A crown and reached the Class 4A Upper State championship game last season, is playing with several fresh faces in its starting lineup this year. McCarter said he lost 12 of his seniors over the offseason to graduation, and said he’s had to replace his entire defensive line, including the goalkeeper.
With the rain pounding down at The Pit, Nation Ford struck first. Carrieri was able to corral the ball through the middle of the field and shoot from distance to open the scoring. Catawba Ridge quickly equalized with a goal of their own just two minutes later.
The Copperheads took a 2-1 lead in the 12th minute when Tull found Serkin in space from 10 yards out. But Carrieri was equal to the task, scoring this time from long-range to make it 2-2 in the 14th minute.
From then on, Catawba Ridge took advantage of their chances and pulled ahead with four goals in the following 25 minutes.
Tull scored himself in the 21st minute when he got on the end of a goalmouth scramble following a Copperheads corner. Four minutes later, Kozel struck a direct free kick that flew into the top-left corner of the Nation Ford net.
Nation Ford suffered an own goal in the 30th minute to make it 5-2 to Catawba Ridge, before the hosts made it six in the 38th minute.
Falcons coach Kenny Halas said his team lost seven players to graduation over the offseason, including five starters. Despite having 13 seniors on the squad, Halas said his team has been “decimated” by injuries as of late.
He said he was proud of his younger kids for stepping up into unfamiliar roles and competing hard. Still, Halas said he felt some of Nation Ford’s bad luck on Tuesday night was self-inflicted.
“The fouls and the set pieces, we chatted about that,” he said. “It’s the moments of the game. We put ourselves in those spots. Credit to Catawba Ridge, they scored on their opportunities. We damaged ourselves. It’s the decision-making of younger guys. This group is still learning.”
