Published: 11:59 AM, 11/05/2009

Last updated: 12:52 PM, 11/17/2009

By: Steve Behr Sports Editor

By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com
CHARLOTTE - For the first 10 minutes, it looked like Watauga would advance into the second round of the state 4-A playoffs. However, somebody forgot to tell Garinger that.
Garinger, the No. 2 seed from the ME-CA 7 Conference, scored five unanswered goals and cruised to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Pioneers. Watauga saw its season end with a 4-16-1 record.
Garinger (8-5) takes on T.C. Roberson in the second round.
Rucker Wilson put the Pioneers on the board with a goal off a crossing pass from Alex Parsons with 34:30 left in the first half. The Pioneers had survived a quick scare from Garingeer's offense, but was able to counter by working the ball upfield quickly. Parsons got the ball on the right flank and found Wilson along the left side.
"The way we played in the first 10 minutes was absolutely gorgeous soccer," Pioneers coach Uwe Ehrlich said. "We did a great job. And then it goes away."
It was all Garinger afterward. The Wildcats scored five minutes later and the teams went into halftime tied 1-1. Watauga had a chance to break that tie when Garinger was called for a foul just outside of the 18-yard box, but the direct kick did not result in a goal.
The Wildcats turned up the pressure in the second half by scoring a goal from 25 yards out nine minutes into the half, and adding another goal off a long pass from the midfield four minutes later, giving them a 3-1 lead. Watauga had a chance to pull to within one, but a header off a corner kick did not go in.
Garinger added a goal with 10 minutes left to effectively slam the door on Watauga's season for good. The Wildcats added a fifth goal inside of two minutes to close out the scoring.
"We didn't challenge for the ball," Ehrilch said. "When the ball's up in the air and when they are kicking the ball 30 or 40 yards down the field, and on this field that's a big advantage, we saw the ball fly through the air, but we did not jump on the situation."
Ehrlich felt his team can beat Garinger, but simply did not play to its potential.
"We just didn't play well," Ehrlich said. "We missed the ball, we didn't win the ball when it was a 50-50 ball and we didn't take care of the ball when we had the opportunity."

For more in-depth coverage, see the latest print edition of the Watauga Democrat, available at hundreds of locations across the High Country.

To subscribe to the Watauga Democrat for less than 15 cents per day, click here (https://ssl.jonesmedia.biz/circ/index.php?db=watauga).