Wilmington, NC - The Cape Fear Men's soccer team lost to a strong Louisburg College side, 6-1.
The game did not start how the Sea Devils wanted, with the Hurricanes scoring in the opening seconds of the game. Cape Fear would settle down a bit afterwards, but Louisburg continued to apply a lot of pressure.
As the first half wore on Louisburg would maintain more possession, but Cape Fear would make it difficult for them to get any solid chances at goal.
A decent chance would develop in the 14th minute, with Cape Fear creating a chance at goal on a breakaway.
A minute later, goalkeeper Martin Zambrano would make a great one-on-one save, denying Louisburg their second goal. Zambrano would make a number of good saves in the first half, keeping the Sea Devils within striking distance. He would make 15 saves during the game.
Despite Zambrano's best efforts, the Hurricanes would get their second goal thanks to a spectacular strike from James Fergany from outside the box.
Following the second goal, Cape Fear would find themselves pinned back in their own half as Louisburg searched for a third. That goal would eventually come less than a minute before halftime.
Cape Fear would get a bit more possession back as the half came to a close, but would be unable to create a chance. For the half, they would only register one shot on goal.
After a slow start to the second half, both teams would begin a quick succession of goals.
The first would come by the Hurricanes in the 57th minute, as Andra Viano would pick up his team's fourth goal of the game.
Cape Fear would answer shortly after, with David Graham firing a shot from about 20 yards out into the top right of the goal.
Seconds later, Viano would get his second of the game, curling a shot past Zambrano.
As in the first half, Louisburg would control most of the possession, giving Cape Fear few opportunities to to get into an attacking position. Most of Cape Fear's chances would come off of counter attacks, when many of Louisburg's players were deep into Cape Fear's half.
In the 87th minute, Jakob Asfaha would score Louisburg's sixth and final goal, off an assist by Kobbie Fraser.
For the game, Louisburg would record 21 shots on goal, while Cape Fear would register only three.
After the game, head coach C.W. Ponton was critical of his team's performance. "I thought we had a major lack of effort, and even more so, poor communication overall throughout the entire team." Ponton pointed to his team lack of preparation, stating, "We didn't come into this game prepared. You could see our guys before the game, mentally they just weren't ready."
Moving forward, Ponton wants to see his team play with a different mindset. "I'd like to see them come out with more intensity, play like they actually want to win, move the ball quicker, and most importantly, communicate across the board, having everyone talk, at every moment of the game."
With the loss, the Sea Devils move to 2-4 on the season.
They will play next on the road against Patrick Henry on September 21st, at 3:00 p.m.
Courtesy of Nick Denning
