By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If soccer games were decided by who spends the most time in an opponent’s half of the field, Ardrey Kell was the clear winner on Aug. 14 in the 2023season opener vs. Watauga. That didn’t happen, though, because the Pioneers’ defenders turned back the Knights’ onslaught — including three dramatic saves by senior goalkeeper Kyle Painter in the 0-0 draw.
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Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt is intentional in his non-conference scheduling, loading up the early slate of matches with the strongest possible competition before starting to campaign for a Northwestern Conference championship. At least in North Carolina, the Knights’ program is among the best. Competing in the highest, 4A classification, Ardrey Kell finished No. 13 among all of the 566 high school soccer programs in North Carolina by the end of the 2022 season, according to MaxPreps.com, which had Watauga listed at No. 83.
“Before the game, we were all sitting around looking at social media and stuff and my buddy, Ben Myers, showed me a power ranking for North Carolina 4A, and Ardrey Kell was ranked as No. 7. We weren’t even mentioned. You wouldn’t even know that Watauga existed. So, we had a bit of a chip on our shoulders tonight, feeling we had something to prove. Coming away with a 0-0 is a statement to any school in the state that we are not a joke or just a bunch of hillbillies. We can play.”
Honeycutt put the Pioneers’ season opening performance into perspective after achieving a 0-0 draw when the Knights dominated possession.
“I am super proud of these guys the way they battled all night long,” said Honeycutt. “Defensively, we were as solid as we could be. Ardrey Kell has an unbelievable attack, one of the best high school teams I have seen. They have lots of talent on the ball, lots of good runs and quick one- and two-touch passing. They are very difficult to defend and we came out here and kept it a 0-0 game. That just speaks volumes to what our guys leave on the field every time they come out to play soccer.”
Honeycutt had special praise for Painter’s performance.
“Kyle had a couple of great saves and he commanded the field. It all starts with him. He is very vocal, directing traffic. Our backline is soaking wet right now, drenched in sweat because they did an excellent job of man-marking and tracking, making sure we were staying goal side and giving Ardrey Kell as few opportunities as possible. For an opponent like Ardrey Kell, on their pitch in this heat, to come away 0-0 in the season opener… I will take that all day long.”
Although Honeycutt understood the significance of the draw against a very strong Ardrey Kell team, he also realized there is room for improvement.
“We have to do a better job of possessing in the midfield,” he said. “We had a couple of guys say beforehand that they weren’t feeling great, even nauseous, perhaps because of the heat, so we were shuffling guys in and out. There wasn’t a lot of continuity as we were trying to keep the guys hydrated. I think if we can build our midfield possession and allow it to be purposeful, to build the attack moving the ball forward, we will be a lot better off. We were a little on our heels tonight, but that is also credit to Ardrey Kell and how good they are in their attack.”
Senior defender Ayden Johnson credited his team’s communication on the field for much of the evening’s performance.
“On the field, we have to always be talking to each other, checking your shoulders and communicating,” said Johnson. “A big thing is also trust. I have to be able to trust my outside back, let them fight their battles and trust them to win those. We have a lot of connection and togetherness on this team.”
Watauga returns home, hoping for more favorable playing conditions on Wednesday, Aug. 16, for their opener at Jack Groce Stadium against West Caldwell (Lenoir).
“I am excited for it,” said Painter. “We’ve been talking to friends and looking for a big crowd. If we play as well as we did tonight, everyone gets to go home early.”
“Win big,” added Johnson, smiling.
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