East Wake controls own destiny after soccer win over Knightdale

Michael Howes might not have been very optimistic about his East Wake boys soccer team’s playoff hopes three weeks ago.

But after 2-1 win over Knightdale on Wednesday, the Warriors (8-9-2, 6-5-2 Greater Neuse River 4A) have at least given themselves a chance.

That comes with winning six straight games, including three against opponents who had defeated the Warriors in the first half of the conference season. And it comes after East Wake conceded three overtime losses and had seven games in the early going of one goal or fewer scored.

“It sure feels nice to win,” Howes said. “It’s amazing what can happen to a team with the right attitude. I’m so glad these boys have been so resilient.”

East Wake is hoping to carry the momentum into the regular season finale Monday, when the team travels to Angier to face Harnett Central. The teams battled to a scoreless tie in their last meeting in a weather-shortened game. A victory for the Warriors would even their conference record with the Trojans, but would also give East Wake the edge for one of three automatic bids for a state playoff berth.

According to Howes, a change in the lineup has been the catalyst for the Warriors’ resurgence.

Senior captains Eric Laredo and Johnny Odette were moved up to forward, senior captain Layne Gairrett and junior Garrett Johnson were moved to midfield and junior Jake Clement and senior Steven Juarez-Reyes were moved back to central defenders. The move has paid dividends by making the team more cohesive in the midfield.

“We had to do something to generate more scoring,” Howes said. “If something is not working, you have to make that change.”

The Knights (7-16, 5-8), who have been ranked as high as third in the conference, have fallen on hard times of late with four consecutive losses. Wednesday’s loss dropped them into a tie with Southeast Raleigh for sixth in the conference with one game remaining.

It was a closely-contested match between the conference rivals, typical of how both teams have played all season with numerous games decided by one goal. The league has largely been balanced, with most of the teams in contention all season.

The Warriors struck first when Laredo split the defenders and found the back of the net 11 minutes into the first half. East Wake appeared to be in control until Knightdale’s Andy Gamez chipped one over the defenders to even the score with 5:24 remaining in the half.

Neither team made much headway in the second half until Laredo found Odette on the right side for the Warriors’ second goal at about the midway mark. A diving save by freshman keeper Danny Ibarra with 6:02 to play thwarted Knightdale’s attempt to tie the game.

Knightdale is hoping to end the season on a high note when they host West Johnston on Monday for their senior night. According to first-year Knights coach Aaron Steele, inconsistency has been an issue for his team.

Steele said he knew his team wouldn’t find its best qualities until later in the season, when there would be little time to capitalize on them.

“Finding a groove has been tough,” Steele said. “The conference has been so tight. Going in we knew it would be that way.”

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 5:07 PM with the headline "East Wake controls own destiny after soccer win over Knightdale."