Pinecrest and North Moore Soccer advances to second round

North Moore Mustangs will play in round two of the NCHSAA 1A State Playoffs. The 3rd ranked Mustangs defeated Roxboro Community 5-1.

Roxboro scored first in the first half. “We started losing in the first half with a long ball from the keeper that our defense did not stop. After 5 punts from the opponent’s goalie, we were able to recognize, challenge, and win the balls in the air,” said Coach Peralta.

Christopher “Guero” Betancourt stepped on the field after being sidelined for a few weeks with an injury. Betancourt converted two goals before the end of the first half. One was from the penalty area.

The Mustangs went into the half 3-1. “We did not want Chris to play the whole game because of him just coming back from an injury, so he only got a few minutes of playing time in which he worked hard,” said Peralta.

Ricky Betancourt, Esteban “Tano” Pulido, and Daniel Sales all scored one goal each. The Mustangs controlled the speed of the game throughout the entire match and the Mustangs defenders showed leadership at the pitch.

The Mustangs will host 19th ranked Vance Charter, on Thursday at 6 p.m. Vance Charter 10-13-1 upset 14 ranked Union County on Monday 5-0.

The Pinecrest Patriots also won the first round and advance to the second round on Thursday. The Patriots defeated Fuquay-Varina 3-1.

Pinecrest got off to a slow start, trailing 0-1 going into the half. It was all Patriots in the second half, scoring three unanswered goals.

The Patriots will now host 21 ranked Herritage 16-6-2 on Thursday at 6 p.m. Herritage upset 12th ranked Enloe 3-1 on Monday in the first round.

Article by Curtis Self, Photo contributed by North Moore Mustangs Soccer.