By David Shaw
dshaw@salisburypost.com
BARIUM SPRINGS ó It appears the Salisbury boys soccer team is through window shopping and ready to make a buy.
The streaking Hornets bottled some more magic Wednesday night when they scored a last-minute goal and stunned host South Iredell 1-0 in the third round of the 2A state playoffs.
“We kept talking about waiting for our moment ó and being prepared for when our moment arrives,” coach Tom Sexton said after Salisbury (16-4-1) earned a fourth-round match at Hibriten on Saturday. “And that moment just happened to come with 30 seconds left.”
It came when reserve forward Paul Kollie settled a pass from teammate Victor Nyae and slid a 20-yard grounder through a screen and over the goal line, just 18 inches inside the right post.
“That goal was waiting for me to kick it in,” Kollie said with a 150-watt grin after netting his 16th goal. “I was going to turn and give it back (to a midfielder). But I thought, ‘Let me just kick it. If it goes in, it goes in. If I miss it, I miss it.’ ”
The goal offered some redemption for Kollie, who was called offsides three times.
“We didn’t panic. We didn’t rush,” said SHS defender Randy Almeida. “Paul came back for the ball and I heard him yell, ‘Leave, leave, leave.’ He knew he had a good angle. It was a beautiful strike.”
It barely eluded South Iredell keeper Carlos Solis, who was peppered with 18 shots and made several acrobatic saves.
“If Carlos doesn’t get that ball, you know it’s a legitimate goal,” losing coach Dave Basinger said after the Vikings finished 18-2. “Ground balls are the most dangerous shots. They can go through traffic, get deflected, whatever. You never really know what could happen. It’s a great shot any way you look at it.”
Sexton spent much of the evening shuffling his forward lines, looking for winning combinations. The Hornets finally clicked when Nyae and Kollie put their minds ó and feet ó together.
“Those guys are best buddies,” said Sexton. “They hang around one another all the time. They come over to my house and eat all my food.”
If Sexton has another get-together, he needs to invite the six seniors who played hermetically sealed defense for Salisbury last night. Almeida joined backliners Alex Hunter, Dustin Presnell, Will Mason and Sam Garner in limiting SI to three good scoring chances. “That defense,” Sexton said while rolling his eyes, “Everyone did their job. They’re gonna be sore and they’re gonna be tired. But they did their job.”
Meanwhile, senior keeper Frankie Cardelle hung out the “No Trespassing” sign and recorded the Hornets’ 13th shutout.
“People tend to underestimate us,” Cardelle said. “We underestimate ourselves. We came in a little nervous tonight. I won’t lie. But after 10 or 15 minutes, this game was all us.”
SHS was most effective against South’s top three scoring threats ó forwards Chris Laws and Michael Comer, and midfielder Zach Leaptrott. “If those guys with 22 goals can’t score, it just shows how well we’re playing in the back,” Cardelle said.
Sexton knows what he means. “I’m just so happy right now,” he said. “That might have been the most satisfying game we’ve had in a long, long time.”
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NOTES: Hibriten (20-5) advanced with a 2-1 victory over East Davidson. … Presnell suffered a foot injury and saw limited duty in the second half. … Leaprott’s older brother Russ, a former South Iredell player, was injured in a car accident on Tuesday. … Basinger, now in his sixth year with the Vikings, is a former South Rowan coach.