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    • One goal is enough as Southside tops Clover Garden in 1-A playoff opener – Washington Daily News
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    One goal is enough as Southside tops Clover Garden in 1-A playoff opener – Washington Daily News

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    One goal is enough as Southside tops Clover Garden in 1-A playoff opener

    Posted at 4:34 am on Sunday, November 10, 2024

    CHOCOWINITY, NC — In soccer, one goal is all you need to win the game… along with a solid defense.

    Southside scored in the 23rd minute and used a bent defense but wouldn’t break down to secure a 1-0 win over Clover Garden in the first round of the Class 1-A state playoffs. The victory, the sixth in eight games for the Seahawks (15-8-1) sets up Tuesday’s second-round matchup at East Wake Academy.

    Both teams seemed to feel each other out early as the strategy began. The Seahawks and Grizzlies each had scoring chances, but defense was the name of the game for most of the first half. A Southside goal changed everything and put the pressure on Clover Garden to get the equalizer, something the Seahawks and goalie Jaheem Blount never let happen.

    “I felt like we had a lot of good opportunities tonight and I wonder if Saturday’s game threw us off a little bit because we’re normally Monday through Thursday,” Southside coach Jay Petty said. “Usually we don’t practice or play on Friday let alone Saturday.

    “So what I told the guys over there at the end was I told them you did what you had to do to get the job done and I told them you didn’t quit.”

    Southside got their goal in the 23rd minute. There was a battle in front of the Grizzles goal that ended when Pedro Chavez Pullman, one of two seniors on a very young team, scored when the Grizzlies goalie found himself wide of the mark and score. Pullman’s goal tied him with freshman Arturo Ramos with 22 goals apiece this season.

    “I’ve had it for four years. He is a machine. He just doesn’t quit,” Petty said of Pullman.

    “And the thing is, with Pedro, he’ll be here an hour before practice, working before we practice. He usually comes out around 2:30, 3 o’clock, and shoots, dribbles, runs, does all kinds of things.

    “Today I actually told him, I said, ‘Look, when the team is here at 2.30, I said, I don’t want to see you here at 1.30 on the field hitting the ball.’ I told him “Save your energy” because Pedro is just that kind of kid. He will work himself to death. But it’s a good thing.“

    From there, Southside’s defense did the rest to preserve the shutout. During a stretch early in the second half, Blount and the Seahawks survived three straight Clover Garden corner kicks in a two-minute span. Blount made several more big saves as the Grizzlies continued to attack the Southside end in search of a goal.

    A final shot from Clover Garden’s Cameron Clayton to Aiden Fuller went off Blount’s leg, setting up a final corner kick for the Grizzlies. They couldn’t convert and the ball went out of bounds near Southside’s bench as the final horn sounded.

    “I think the defense did a pretty good job of giving up the need and paying attention to who’s on what side,” Blount said. “And to stick to that man, instead of scattering and not being gathered in the middle. So they squeezed a lot more, I would say, in this game, for sure.

    “For my part, I’d say they did better at challenging the ball. And I did more diving than I usually do in games, for sure. And I think keep calm and stay in control so you don’t lose control.”

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