Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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OCTOBER 24-30, 2018 UCW 25 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Eagles defend state soccer title by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Fayetteville Academy entered the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association's 2-A state soccer playoffs last weekend as defending state champion riding a 10-game winning streak this year. The Eagles got the No. 1 seed in this year's 2-A tour- nament and earned a double bye into the quar- terfinal round, which was scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 20. They were to face the winner of a second- round match between Trinity Academy and The O'Neal School. Fayetteville Academy is seeking its 17th state boys soccer title and fifth in the last eight years. If they're still alive when this article is published, they'll advance to this year's state finals on Saturday at Westchester Country Day in High Point. Although Eagle coach Andrew McCarthy had a good feeling about this year's team, there were some concerns about qualifying for the state play- offs because of changes in the NCISAA. The organization expanded from three classes to four. Fayetteville Academy remained a 2-A team but was placed in a four-team split 3-A/4-A con- ference, which meant it didn't get an automatic berth in the state playoffs and strength of sched- ule was important in determining who advanced to the postseason. "We didn't have a lot of head-to-head or com- mon opponents with teams in our classification,'' McCarthy said. "Luckily, our strength of schedule was good enough to give us the No. 1 seed.'' The Eagles have been led in scoring by Hudson Zeisman with 20 goals and 10 assists. Following him is Boyce Purdie with 12 goals and 10 assists. Goalkeeper Langdon Boliek has recorded 10 shutouts in the Eagles' 13 games. Senior captain Julian Barbaro said he's not sur- prised the Eagles are back in the playoffs because of all the work they've put in this season. "Everyone gives it all every time they step on the field,'' he said. "In the final third (on defense), we're pretty good once we keep it simple. Our defense is strong as a unit.'' Barbaro praised both Zeisman and Purdie for being unselfish. "They try to look for open plays,'' he said. McCarthy agreed, adding that Zeisman was especially good on set pieces. "He's a fantastic athlete, a kid who loves scoring goals,'' McCarthy said. "He's a gamer when it comes to game time. He's ready to go and loves scoring.'' The No. 1 seed and double bye is both good news and bad news for the Eagles. While it gives them a break and allows them to heal from minor bumps and bruises during the regular season, it also means they're not going to be playing. The team they'll be facing Saturday, if the Eagles are still alive, will have had the benefit of one or two com- petitive games. The Eagles have been in this position before, and McCarthy said it's just something you have to accept. "You've got to make sure every practice is as sharp as possible,'' he said. "There's a method to every practice and a goal at the end of every practice. "We have some good players, and practice can get pretty intense the way we set things up. Intensity has to come in practice whether you have a double bye or not. That's one thing we push for.'' Some of Fayetteville Academy's biggest rivals in the 2-A classification last year moved up to 3-A this season, but McCarthy said there are still plenty of tough teams left to test the Eagles this year in their bid to repeat. "There's going to be a lot of really tough com- petition,'' he said. "I don't think there's a lot of dif- ference in the top teams. Any of the top ten could cause problems.'' As usual, McCarthy expects defense to be key for whoever wins, along with keeping everyone healthy and being prepared for the opponent. "It's the old cliche,'' he said, "one game at a time.'' Julian Barbaro Hudson Zeisman Haylie Bragg Gray's Creek • Cross Country • Junior Bragg has an unweight- ed grade point aver- age of 3.69. She recently placed 12th in the Patriot Athletic Conference cross coun- try championship meet with a time of 21:46.10. Garrett Sirois Gray's Creek • Football • Senior Sirois has an unweighted grade point average of 3.91. As the kicker on the Gray's Creek football team, he's made 20 of 23 extra points and two field goals for 26 points as of Oct. 17 – the third- best kick-scorer among Cumberland County Schools kickers. His late 32-yard field goal gave the Bears a 25-22 win over Jack Britt. Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop congratulates these amazing scholar athletes of the week and invites them to the Rocket Fizz Store at 1916 Skibo Rd. to receive a FREE gift recognizing their achievement! www.rocketfizz.com PRESENT OUR WEEKLY LINE UP CAPE FEAR HIGH SCHOOL COACH'S SHOW 7-8pm @ 301 Wingz, 407 Eastern Blvd Airing on WCLN 105.7FM Bill Boyette w/ Coach Jacob Thomas TERRY SANFORD HIGH SCHOOL COACH'S SHOW 8-9pm @ Sammio's, 2623 Raeford Rd Airing on WFNC AM640 Trey Edge w/ Coach Bruce McClellan MONDAY 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 FRIDAY 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 WEDNESDAY October 26th Coaches Corner Airing on105.7FM/WFNC AM640 all starting @ 6:00pm Followed by LIVE to The Fields @ 7:00pm Cape Fear HS @ E.E. Smith HS on 105.7FM Kick off @ 7:30pm Terry Sanford HS @ Pine Forest HS on AM640 Kick off @ 7:30pm Ending with Postgame Scoreboard w/ Sonny Jones 6-8pm