Staff report
East Rowan’s boys soccer team weathered a 30-minute lightning delay and rallied to beat NPC rival West Rowan 4-3 on Monday.
Jan Garus scored three goals for the Mustangs (6-6-2, 2-2). Dylan Grubb scored their first goal.
Micah Cook scored for West (2-9, 0-4) on a penalty kick. Jose Bautista found the back of the net on a blast for a 2-2 tie. Denys Guerrero’s goal on a free kick from 25 yards out gave the Falcons a 3-2 lead in the second half.
Garus scored on a cross by Reid Lippard to force a 3-3 tie in the 75th minute. Garus tapped in a rebound off a shot by Robbie Barnes in the 76th minute for the decisive goal.
Garus’ first goal came off a corner kick by Barnes.
“West kept us on our heels all night long and played one heck of a game,” East coach John McNeil said. “Guerrero and Bautista are quick, and when they put a foot on it, someone in front of them knows it. Our guys hung in and found a way. We’ve learned from the mistakes of past years.”
East visits North Iredell at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.