CHAPEL HILL — The ball bounced high into the cold night sky, off the mitts of the goalkeeper for the visiting Union High School men’s soccer team.
As it drifted back toward the worn turf at the Park at Briar Chapel, Woods Charter junior Vanner Weakley was there to intervene. The lanky forward hopped into the air and headed the ball with a force, past the keeper and into the back of the net.
A celebration ensued.
It was just one of four goals that Woods Charter scored Monday night, but it proved to be the most crucial one. It came in the 68th minute and broke a 2-2 tie, giving the Wolves a lead at home with mere minutes to play.
Both teams would score again, but Weakley’s header proved to be enough cushion between the Wolves and Union High’s Spartans. And so, on a brisk evening on the soccer pitch surrounded by trees full of fall leaves, Woods Charter captured a playoff victory over Union with a 4-3 score.
“It was very physical, I thought we kept our composure,” Wolves’ head coach Graeme Stewart said. “We needed to match their intensity. When we had the composure and the discipline, I thought we controlled the game, mostly. They were looking for the quick break off the long ball, a lot. After the first 10 minutes, we handled it pretty well. … We scored some very good goals.”
With the win, sixth-seeded Woods (10-8) advances in the NCHSAA 1A boys soccer playoffs, and will host 11th-seeded River Mill on Thursday. River Mill (15-2), located in Graham, topped Gates County, 9-0, on Monday in a dominant performance.
To get its victory, Woods had to work hard and pounce on opportunities. The opening moments of the game were sloppy, and Union — despite just two wins on the season — actually got on the scoreboard first when the boys from Rose Hill scored on a counter attack in the 11th minute.
Within minutes though, the game’s momentum quickly seesawed back into Woods’ favor.
The Wolves found an equalizer in the 17th minute when sophomore midfielder Motasem Mamoun found the back of the net. The sequence began for Woods when junior midfielder Graden O’Connor stepped in front of an attempted clearance by Union, then quickly passed possession off to Weakley, who was unmarked at the top of the box. Instead of shooting as a defender closed in on him, Weakley turned and laid the ball off to his left, where Mamoun ran onto it and blasted a shot toward the far post and past the Spartans’ keeper.
Woods quickly added another score moments later, when freshman defender Aaron Teta leapt up over Union defenders to head in a corner delivery from junior midfielder Ethan Heatherington.
“We had some good individual performances,” Stewart said. “We did well, overall. I’m really pleased. When you’re playing a team like that — that’s really committed, really intense, really fighting for the shirt — it’s always going to be a tough game.”
Union worked its way back into the match in the second half by using grit and physicality. Then, in the 64th minute, there was a scramble for the ball in the Woods penalty area and Union’s Alfredo Hernandez slotted a quick close-range shot past the Wolves’ keeper.
Minutes later, though, Woods responded with Weakley’s important goal. It was the sixth score of the season for the standout junior.
“(Weakley) has been working hard to get that touch and movement,” Stewart said. “Tonight, he was doing it at pace, and that makes a big difference. He’s got a good IQ; we’re just trying to get him to use it. And now he’s using it, and he’s a different player. Up top looked pretty dangerous.”
The contest didn’t end there though. Around the 80th minute, Woods scored again on a strike from junior midfielder Carter Lapp that made Stewart pump his fists. The Wolves also misfired on a penalty kick late in the match too, which would have grown their lead even more.
With a two-goal lead in the waning moments of the game, the Wolves relaxed for a moment, which was enough time for Union to get a score back. A long, lofty attempt from Union’s Jonathan Torres sailed out of reach for the Wolves’ keeper and landed softly in the back of the net. However, time didn’t allow for Union to get another attempt at the goal.
Before Thursday arrives, first on the to-do list for the Wolves is to recharge and regain their strength. They’ll need it if they want to keep advancing in the playoffs.
“We’ll have some knocks, because we’re a small squad,” Stewart said. “Then it’s just refocusing, mentally getting ready to play another intense game.”