Moore’s 3 goals pace Houston Bears past Demons

mbrown@sunmulti.com

The only thing missing was a snowstorm (if it’s good enough

for Team USA …)

On a bitter cold early evening in late March, the high

school soccer rivalry between Houston County High and Warner Robins High

resumed Tuesday at the Bear Den. Steven Moore of Houston County got credit for

two first-half goals (three in all) that broke a 1-1 tie and sent the home team

to a 6-1 victory. That keeps the third-ranked Bears of coach Jason Kirk both

undefeated and untied through 12 matches of the 2013 season.

The first goal of the match went to senior Andrew Weber, and

it occurred while all players were still trying to get accustomed the chilly

conditions. Will Pospisil, a steady presence on Houston’s defensive back line,

sent the soccer ball deep into his team’s scoring territory. Drew Behrman

caught up with the pass and kept it from going out of bounds at the baseline.

Behrman’s crossing pass into the penalty box could have been

intended for any number of his teammates. Colin Little actually whiffed on the

ball first, but right behind him was Weber. His authoritative shot went in at

38:27.

Kirk did lose the services of one of his senior backs,

Ezequiel Morales, for the rest of the match due to injury. Morales was hurt

making a play just a couple of minutes after the goal to assist his own keeper,

who got away from the net.

Warner Robins, using the wind in its advantage for the first

half, took a pair of long-range shots. Brandon Hagopian shot off a throw-in,

and the ball banged around the bars but stayed in play.

At 30:41 it was Tyler Swain taking a side-winder shot from

more than 40 yards away. He found the back of the net to tie the match 1-1.

Moore’s tiebreaker came at 28:39 as he was surrounded by

Demon defenders in the box. Braden Anderson entered into the action to get a

foot on the ball, and it deflected off Moore and crossed the line.

Adam Myers, the freshman Bears keeper, spent the rest of the

first half redeeming himself. He got on the ball and allowed Will Cowart to

make a clearing play as Warner Robins pushed at 27:31. Over the next seven

minutes, Dylan Krimmer, Pospisil and Justin Little disrupted Warner Robins’

offense numerous times.

On the opposite end, Demon freshman Jeremy King was making a

strong showing for himself in the sweeper spot. Cody Dees was Warner Robins’

sophomore goalkeeper, and at the 17-minute mark he made a powerful punt all the

way to the Bear penalty box. Weber had to make a head save prior to Myers’

diving stop.

With 15:30 left to play, Martin Garay of Warner Robins just

missed a tying goal when his ball hit the top bar. Justin and older brother

Everick Little spent the next four minutes leading the ball to the Demon end,

and a pass combination from Colin Little to Anderson to Josh Bilbrey resulted

in a shot missed just wide.

Everick Little blocked back-to-back attempts at the 9:45

mark.

With just over six minutes left, Bill Hess hit a lead pass

to Moore, who was in a footrace with the ball against King.

Side-by-side these

two ran, and Dees blocked the initial shot on goal. The ball went straight up

in the air, and the keeper couldn’t stop it from going in for 3-1 Bears.

Weber spent the first two minutes of the second half

initiating action on a free kick (cleared by Nathan Peters) and setting up a

header by Moore (saved). Five minutes in, Moore used an onside lead from

Jonathan Scruggs to do some wide dribbling around the defense only to miss his

shot.

Dees, one more minute later, saved E. Little’s shot after

Weber claimed a 50-50 goal kick. Another 30 seconds passed and Weber missed

wide from a Scruggs feed.

Moore’s third goal would come via a penalty kick when he

drew a foul in the box off C. Little’s pass at 31:45. Moore had a short-range

effort stopped by Dees just 15 seconds after the kickoff (E. Little making the

pass).

Things evened up over the next 10 minutes with Krimmer and

Aguilar pacing the defense and Sean Palmer making a clean steal. Dees had

around eight plays on the ball over a 13-minute span.

Bryce Dawson minded Houston’s net over the second half. His

first big play came with less than 18 minutes to go as he slapped the ball away

for a corner. He saved a shot from Matt Monday.

The Bears added two more goals over the final seven minutes

of regulation. Colin Little notched one at 6:23, and at 3:27 Scruggs had an

attempt denied. Patrick Patisaul was in position to rebound and score.

• Houston County High’s girls rolled past Warner Robins High

earlier on Tuesday 10-0.

The Lady Bears did their scoring in bunches, starting with two

straight goals by Jasmine Johnson in the first eight minutes of play. Karissa

Engram had three in a row midway through the first half, and the last two –

giving Houston nine overall for 40 minutes – went to Lizzy Upchurch.

Brittany Greene, Sholeh Rezaee and Kaylee Bromell also

scored.

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