BY DAVID SHAW
SALISBURY POST

Don’t look for Dustin Efird’s name in the scoring column from Thursday night’s Rowan County boys soccer tournament championship match.

You won’t find it.

But you will find his fingerprints all over South Rowan’s 3-2 come-from-behind victory over host Salisbury.

“I play with Dustin all the time,” said Hornets’ midfielder Daniel Butner, a teammate on the U.S. Olympic Development team. “And I love him to death. But I absolutely hate playing against him.”

It’s no wonder. Efird, South’s good-as-gold junior sweeper, made this game his own. He played textbook defense, forcing Salisbury to advance through the congested middle-of-the-field lanes while choking off its wing play.

Then when Salisbury reorganized and launched its damn-the-torpedoes second-half attack, he remained unruffled and repeatedly hung out the “Access Denied” sign.

By the time Ludwig Stadium had emptied, South had its first title since 1993 and Efird owned an impressive piece of hardware — the tourney MVP award.

“I didn’t know I’d be holding the plaque, but I knew we’d be standing right here,” he said from the winner’s sideline. “We were ready for this game. Salisbury had knocked us out (of the tournament) the past two years and we weren’t going to let that happen again.”

What happened — South received second-half goals from Nick Thomas and Derrick Beaver and erased a 2-1 halftime deficit — was not totally unexpected. Both South coach Sean Szakal and Salisbury’s Tom Sexton figured the match was a toss-up.

“I knew if we played our game, we could win,” said Szakal. “A key part of that was taking Budha (Butner) out of the game. We really didn’t so I was wrong. They came at us in other ways. We won because still made enough of the important plays to win.”

“I had a feeling going into this,” added Sexton. “I said ‘I just don’t like this.’ South came in here just a little more hungry than we were. I sensed that from the start.”

Salisbury can point to its erratic shooting performance and inability to convert good scoring chances. The Hornets held an 11-7 edge in shots-on-goal — including a couple of point-blank attempts that South keeper Jesse Eldred smothered like a circus performer catching a cannonball.

But mostly it was Efird who helped South do the hokey-pokey and turn this match around. “Dustin was the man,” chimed teammate Neal Roberts.

He certainly was, particularly while Salisbury went for the knockout early in the second half. Already protecting a one-goal lead on scores by Will Ketcham and Bill Goodman, the Hornets temporarily widened the field and peppered South’s defense with six excellent shots in six minutes.

There was Justin Leonard’s short blast from the left side and Alec Beaver’s 15-yard rocket that Eldred deflected over the crossbar. Later, Butner broke through a crowd and slid a five-yard chip shot inches wide of the right post. The difference-maker on each of thosde plays? None other than Efird.

“He was everywhere,” said Butner. “I think I was so worried about getting past Dustin that I did the hard part and missed the easy part.”

South, which got a first-half goal from Nathan Hernandez, tied the score 2-2 when Thomas bulldozed his way through traffic and pumped a 10-yard shot past freshman keeper Jack Campbell at the eight-minute mark.

“I saw the defense split so I played it on through,” said Thomas, who netted four goals in the tournament. “Then I just put it on the goalie and it beat him.”

The winning goal came with seven minutes to play. It began when South’s Roberts launched a throw-in from the right sideline deep in Salisbury territory. The ball sailed to the far post, where Beaver suddenly appeared and headed it past Campbell.

“I was just trying to put it in play and hope it hits somebody’s foot or head,” said Roberts.

“(Beaver) came in unmarked,” said Sexton. “I saw the whole thing happen. I said to the guy next to me, “Uh-oh, that’s it.’ Dink. A little touch and it’s in the net.”

The loss ended Salisbury’s reign as tournament champion and set off a wild celebration on the visitors sideline.

“It was a remarkable game,” said Szakal, who was drenched with ice water during the post-game merriment. “We had confidence in ourselves. I think we showed we have the talent to play with them.”

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Sophomore forward Michael Wetter did all the scoring for West Rowan in a 3-2 consolation game victory over North Rowan. Nya Memakeh and Chico Sanchez scored for the Cavs.