By David Shaw
dshaw@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY ó Salisburyís boys soccer team has crossed a big need off its list of things-to-do-in-the-next-three-weeks.
The Hornets landed a second-half haymaker against visiting Central Davidson on Wednesday night ó when they scored four times and clinched their eighth consecutive CCC championsip with a 6-1 victory.
ěOne of the biggest weaknesses in Salisburyís past is not having that fire to dominate a game,î first-year coach Matt Parrish said after SHS completed its league season with a 10-0 mark. ěTo not allow an opponent to stick around. To never underestimate anybody. How can you not be proud of a team that takes a closely contested game and puts in four goals in the second half?î
Salisbury (18-1-1) earned the right to sit back and put its feet up. It will open the 2A state playoffs as a No. 1 seed on Nov. 2.
ěThey are quality,î Central coach Chad Hench said after the Spartans (15-3-1, 8-2) qualified as a No. 2 seed. ěAnd when they play us, they seem to be world-beaters. You just canít make mistakes against them.î
No one was more adept at capitalizing than forward Kenny Bonilla, one of eight Salisbury seniors recognized during a brief halftime ceremony. He contributed two goals, two assists and enough speed to keep Central backpedaling much of the night.
ěTo me, this is the beginning of our season,î he said. ěItís our last year. Thatís all I really need.î
The match opened with a flurry of scoring. Each team found the back of the net on its initial shot in the first minute. Salisbury struck first when Jordy Sanchez knocked a feed from Bonilla past CD keeper Robert Biesecker just 17 seconds into the game.
ěI just went for it and luckily it went in,î he deadpanned. ěIt gave us some confidence.î
Central answered 22 seconds later when senior Andrew Dilley settled a free kick from Collin Roundtree and rifled a shot past Connor Miller into the upper right corner.
ěI think we had a little burst of spirit after that,î Dilley said after netting his 27th goal of the season.
For the next 37 minutes the teams traded runs, hits and errors but neither converted. Much of the match was being played between the hash marks ó where congestion reigned.
ěThe game plan was working,î Hench said. ěThatís what we wanted. We didnít want them to use their speed, because they were much faster than us.î
A bobbled rebound helped Salisbury score a pivotal goal just two minutes before halftime. A Central defended bumped into Biesecker as he tried to confiscate Sanchezís shot from the right side. Bonilla pounced on the loose ball in front and scored an uncontested layup.
ěThat was a huge goal,î Parrish said. ěLeading up to that point, there were moments where they couldnít get the ball from us. But there were other times where they were controlling the midfield. They were winning 50-50 balls.î
Salisbury turned the second half into a track meet. It used more of the field, routinely beat Centralís defenders with sharp passes and forced Biesecker to play farther from his goal line. Bonilla took advantage and scored on a 20-yard blast from the right side four minutes into the second half.
Sophomore Emmy Turcios and senior B.J. Woods sandwiched SHS scores around an own goal in the final 23 minutes.
ěWe knew what we had to do,î said Woods, who tightly marked Dilley in the second half. ěAnd we got the job done. This is what weíve been going for since our freshman year.î

NOTES: First-round playoff pairings will be announced Monday. … Salisbury held a 23-8 edge in shots-at-goal. … Bonilla now has 19 goals and 14 assists. Heís being recruited by UNC-Wilmington and Catawba. Sanchezís goal was his second of the year and Woods recorded his seventh.