Published: October 06, 2008 11:52 pm      

Baker’s PK lifts Spartans over Oak Hill

OAK HILL — Greenbrier East’s boys soccer coach Thomas Karrs hated that his match Monday with Oak Hill come down to a penalty kick.

He wasn’t giving Adam Baker’s goal back, however.

Baker, the Spartans’ senior sweeper, rebounded his own missed spot kick and scored with five minutes left to play to give East a hard-earned 2-1 victory.

“Oak Hill’s defense played well, so you hate to see the game end (like that),” Karrs said. “But we had a lot of pressure on them in the second half and if you keep the ball down in the opponent’s end, something good will happen to you.”

The momentum changed numerous times during the match, but East (5-6-2) took charge for much of the final minutes.

Red Devils goalkeeper Mark Manning made four saves down the stretch to prevent goals, but had his back to the wall when a teammate tripped a Spartan attacker in the penalty area.

Baker, a defensive standout at sweeper all match, lined up for the penalty kick and fired the ball to Manning’s right.

Manning knocked the ball down, but an alert Baker charged in, chested the ball, then curled it into the net with his right foot.

“Adam has had four or five penalty kicks this year and he’s been accurate on all of them,” Karrs said. “This time the keeper made a nice stop, but Adam was able to follow it and get it in.”

Oak Hill (11-4-1) has won most of its games by blowouts this season, but has been unlucky with penalties in several close decisions.

“It seems like it’s happened a lot where the final score comes down to a PK,” coach Laura Sedlock. “But that’s part of (the game).”

The Spartans and Red Devils played an entertaining match, although it was more notable for solid defensive plays than for offensive brilliance.

Baker set the stage early, making a last-ditch clearance when Joel Young’s cross in front of the goal was bounced around between several players.

Manning made two saves before Oak Hill got the first break of the afternoon. Young hit an inswinging corner kick to teammate Ryne Shuff in front of the goal. As they battled for the ball, it bounced off an East defender and twisted away from keeper Rhys Rogers for a score.

Rogers made saves on Oak Hill’s next two shots, and Brandon Prevett tied the match with a rebound shot with five minutes to play before halftime.

East cranked it up in the second half, getting more than double Oak Hill’s shots, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

The Red Devils also got two exceptional plays up close from defender Charles Woodson, another from Daniel Garcia and several fine stops by Manning.

“We were not as sharp offensively as we can be,” Karrs said. “We were not able to deliver the pas when we had open guys, and Oak Hill’s defense didn’t make many mistakes.”

Neither did East’s defense, which had Red Devils’ stellar midfielder Victor Garcia marked tight all game.

“We know Garcia is the man who makes things work for them,” Karrs said. “He can create or score, but we stayed with him reasonably well.”

Garcia got off a late shot that went wide of goal, and Rogers made a solid catch of Drew Hansen’s direct kick from just outside the penalty area in the closing seconds.

Sedlock thought her team has improved since an earlier meeting with East.

“Our defense was aggressive and played a good game,” she said. “The first time around they won 4-1, so 2-1 is a good loss, if that makes any sense. We’ve improved. I’m proud of them.”

Greenbrier East won the junior varsity game 4-1.

Oak Hill is at Bluefield Wednesday while the Spartans host James Monroe Thursday.

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