By Warren Beck

Special to the Democrat

MORGANTON - When the Watauga boys' soccer team left school on Thursday, bound for its third and final match at the Patton Invitational in Morganton, they were poised to bring home the new high school's first championship trophy. After a defensively dominant performance in their first game against McDowell, and an overwhelming offensive output led by sophomore Alex Parsons in the second against Draughn, Watauga sat in a position to win the tournament in its final match against Newton-Conover.

From the opening kickoff, the Pioneers sensed the urgency of their opportunity, putting the Red Devils under pressure immediately. Before the game had reached the five-minute mark, the Pioneers took a 1-0 lead and did not fall behind in the game, winning 4-2.

Senior Cam Haas picked up Watauga's first goal in the fourth minute with his patented flip throw. Taking it out-of-bounds 25 yards from his opponent's goal, Haas hurled himself over the ball, throwing it off a Newton-Conover defender and into the goal.

Fifteen minutes later a minor hiccup allowed the Red Devils to even the game after a foul in the box afforded them a penalty kick. Before halftime, though, the Pioneers retook the lead and never looked back.

Alex Parsons, who logged two goals and an assist against Draughn earlier in the week, came through again for the Pioneers, scoring the game-winning goal.

Parsons had been held in check for the majority of the half, but, like any good striker, he made the most of his opportunity to score. Receiving the ball at the top of the 18-yard box, he separated himself from the last defender and broke toward the goal. With another touch, Parsons blasted a shot past the on-rushing goalkeeper to put the Pioneers ahead.  

Although Watauga would concede one more goal, the second half was owned by senior Bradley Johnson junior Jesus Morales, who came together on scoring plays not once, but twice, splitting roles as assistor and goal scorer.

On the first, Morales received the ball from teammate Koji Tokushige just inside the Newton-Conover half. Looking up, he saw Johnson come free at the top of the 18-yard box. "Before the ball even arrived, I knew I had to shoot with my first touch," said Johnson. "I thought the keeper would get there if I took a touch to settle the ball - he was coming hard - so I just hit it." Johnson's first touch sent the ball over the approaching goalkeeper, where it hit the ground and bounced into the net before the Red-Devil defense could recover.

On the second goal, it was Johnson's turn to serve Morales. Charging at the goal from the corner, Johnson played the ball into after changing his mind about what to do. "I was going to shoot, but I decided to cross the ball at the last second when I saw a blue [Watauga] jersey wide open in front of the goal," said Johnson, who admitted that he did not actually know which of his teammates wore the blue jersey.

"Well, when I saw it was Jesus, I had to pass it to him," he joked. "You know, he helped me score, so I thought I should return the favor."

For his part, Morales was just happy to capitalize on the opportunity his teammate had provided him. "I was so open I didn't know what to do - or how I should even hit the ball. I just jumped in the air and hit it hard with the inside of my foot." His effort was enough to put the Pioneers decisively ahead at that point, 4-1.

Head coach Woody McKay was pleased with his team's performance throughout the tournament. "As the week progressed, we began to gel," he said, "We had more combination passing and began to support each other. Most importantly, I think, the guys seemed to really be enjoying it out there."

Players enjoying the game is perhaps the biggest difference assistant coach Johnny Gailes sees between this season and last. "This is a team that has great chemistry. They have a good bond and play very composed soccer. After losing some games early last season, it seemed like the players didn't enjoy playing soccer as much as they should. That is totally different so far this season."

McKay and Gailes agreed that this week's result proved they have a deep team with a lot of potential this season. "I think this team has a very confident attitude approaching the conference season," said Gailes. "A lot of players are stepping up and, especially the seniors, have something to prove."

Will Cox, Berkley Wilcox, and Alex Parsons were all named to the All-Tournament team. Parsons, who scored three goals and added one assist in three games, took home the MVP honors.

Cox, a senior, played every minute of every game at the sweeper position, sidelined for only ten minutes when a bloody nose during the warm-up prevented him from starting the second game. "I'm tired," said Cox. "It was very hot out there. But I'm out there to help organize our defense, so I like to be out there a lot."

Cox was content with his team's result during the week, especially the play of the defense. "We have a lot of experience in the defense - Bo [Pogoloff] and I have been starting back there for several years now - and I'm just happy that our experience is showing."  

The turnaround the Pioneers have seen from last year - in just the first three games of this season - has been dramatic.  Finishing with a 4-15-1 record in 2009, the team struggled to develop chemistry and gain momentum from the beginning.

The Pioneer's next game will be Wednesday at Bunker Hill High School, followed by their first regular season home game against Avery on Thursday. After that, the Pioneers have only two games remaining to tune-up before the start of the conference season on September 15^th at South Caldwell. They must continue to improve and build their momentum in those games as they head into conference play, a schedule that sees them play three teams ranked in the 3A Top 20 - No. 10 Hickory, No.14 Fred T. Foard, and No. 16 Hibriten.