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Red Tornadoes refocus, beat Panthers in boys' soccer

Victory gives Hickory 18-1 overall record, keeps team in contention

By PAUL FOGLEMAN

Record Sports Correspondent

Published: October 8, 2009

HICKORY - Several things afflicted the Hickory High boys' soccer team after suffering the first setback of the season last week against St. Stephens.

A rolling Red Tornadoes squad suddenly found itself 1 1/2 games back of the Indians in the Northwestern 3A-4A Conference. And Hickory's lofty spot in the North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association rankings also took a hit, tumbling from second to seventh.

But the positive coming out of the defeat?

"It was a bit of a wake up call," said Red Tornadoes head coach Brian Jillings. "We came out against (St. Stephens) a little flat, and now we're in a tough stretch of the schedule.

"It's easy to forget the little things, and that can be the difference between winning and losing."

A refocused Hickory did plenty of everything well Wednesday night, maintaining constant pressure on visiting Hibriten from the outset to claim a 4-1 conference victory.

The Red Tornadoes' third straight win since their loss boosts their overall mark to 18-1-0 and moves them to 6-1 in league play, one game behind St. Stephens (7-0 after beating South Caldwell 4-0 on Wednesday).

Hibriten fell for the second time in its last three matches to slip to 9-6-2, 3-4-0.

"All over the (field) I thought everyone played well from the keeper on forward," Jillings said. "Hibriten's a good team capable of beating anybody.

"The boys came out and put in a good performance."

Hickory has outscored its opposition 17-3 over its three-game run and owned a 21-9 advantage in shots on goal against the Panthers.

The Red Tornadoes' seemingly endless presence in Hibriten's end of the field prevented the Panthers from developing any sort of offensive flow, said head coach Jim Blanton.

"We didn't build up out of our back well," Blanton said. "We knew how dangerous a team (the Red Tornadoes) are, and they're bigger and faster and well-prepared.

"We laid back and played defense instead of taking the ball forward, but they also kept us from doing that.

"And they make their shots count."

Hickory scored in the 21st minute when Drake Fisher pushed the ball past a Hibriten defender along the left side and picked up the first of his two assists with a pass to Michael Delong, who punched a shot into the Panthers' goal.

The Red Tornadoes then made it 2-0 in the 34th minute when Adam Betzwieser booted a penalty kick inside the left post after Hibriten was called for a hand ball in the box.

Hickory extended its lead to 3-0 after the half when Ben Underwood fielded a Banks Anderson pass and flicked a shot from the left side into the right side of the Panthers' net.

After the Red Tornadoes were whistled for their own hand ball in the box, Hibriten cut its deficit to 3-1 in the 60th minute when Jule Picton rifled a penalty kick into the right side of the Hickory goal.

The Red Tornadoes' added their final score in the 72nd minute when Fisher centered a pass to Betzwieser, who posted his second goal with a shot sliding inside the left post.