Devilpups slip by Woods in third round

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On a soggy night down at Camp Lejune on Thursday, the Lejune Devil Pups eliminated Woods Charter from the NCHSAA 1A State Playoffs in boy’s soccer with a 2-1 victory.

The third round loss ends the 2018 season for Woods Charter with a 12-8 record overall, while Lejune, now 13-5-2, moves on to tangle with Franklin Academy with a berth to the Eastern Finals on the line.

It was a bitter loss for the Wolves who had every chance to win and advance, and held the Devil Pups to just two shots on goal, both of which reached the net.

“This is a tough place to go - small, narrow and soggy field that made it difficult to play our passing and movement game,” Woods Charter coach Graeme Stewart said after the loss. “Lejeune is strong, quick and play directly which worked well on that field and to their talents. I felt we controlled the game and held them to just two shots on goal, but we needed to finish our multiple chances.”

Lejune forced Woods Charter to play catch up the entire contest as the maroon and gold clad hosts tallied a goal 3:36 into the match when Broden Wilhelmsen feed Peter Sullivan who blasted a shot into the corner of the net.

The Wolves struggled to reach the net, and remained scoreless in the opening half.
Sam Polk would send the Devil Pups in front 2-0 with 21:09 in the contest when Sam Polk sent in a deflected ball that bound free off a corner kick.

Woods Charter never quit battling, however, and Max Moses booted in a goal on a penalty kick with 8:47 to draw the locals to within 2-1.

The Wolves never could get the tying goal despite several good looks on goal.

“Lejeune did well defensively as a unit to deny space and angles and made many last ditch clearances and tackles,” pointed out Stewart. “My players worked hard and their commitment was outstanding and they kept pushing and pushing. We pulled one back and really laid siege to their goal for the last 20 minutes but it wouldn`t fall for us.”

“We gave everything we had and that is all I can ever want,” closed Stewart. “Good luck to Lejeune in the next round.”

*Editor’s note: Lejune defeated Franklin Academy on Saturday night to advance to the NCHSAA 1A Eastern Finals versus Voyager Academy (20-3-2) out of Durham, a 3-2 winner in triple overtime over Research Triangle Park.

Woods Charter, soccer