By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — In what was almost an ugly Senior Night story for Watauga men’s soccer against Northwestern Conference 4A rival South Caldwell, the Pioneers recovered from second half complacency to defeat the Spartans, 4-2.
The home side took a 2-0 halftime lead into intermission at Jack Groce Stadium, thanks to dominating first half possession and goals by Curtis Sevensky and Asher Hampton. In between, and even after those tallies, Watauga was on attack but failed to capitalize on their opportunities. The closest they came in the first half was a brilliant header by Alex Aguilar on a nifty crossing pass from Quincy Honeycutt — but the shot clanged off the crossbar to no avail.
While Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt felt afterwards that his charges were somewhat “lazy,” lacking intensity the entire first half, there is no disputing the Pioneers held sway during the opening period in dominating possession, enabling the 2-0 lead at halftime.
But “lazy” morphed into complacency by the Pioneers almost from the beginning of the second half and South Caldwell seemed to flip the switch when it came to possession — and scoring a pair of goals to knot the score at 2-2. Well into the final 10 minutes, that’s where things stood until Gavin Lapinski rocked the ball past the South Caldwell goalkeeper from about 15 yards out and, for good measure, Luke Hamilton did the same a couple of minutes later.
“To me, we were complacent the entire game,” said Honeycutt, “right from the start. We still had a 2-0 lead at halftime but got complacent and the next thing you know we were in a 2-2 game, having to battle back to actually get the win. There is a lot to learn from tonight, but it is a win. That is what I told our players at the end: a win is a win and we’ll take it — but (our play) has got to be better if we are going to go down there tomorrow night for the last regular season game and expect to remain undefeated in conference play.”
Some of Watauga having an “off” night might be explained by having to make some roster adjustments and players in unfamiliar roles on the field due to a couple of key players being unavailable. Most notably, that included Ben Myers, who saw limited minutes on the left side after starting and Evan Mawhinney, who usually replaces Myers on the left without the Pioneers missing a beat. While Mawhinney didn’t play at all due to a bruised knee, held out as a precaution, Myers “tweaked something” early and exited as a precautionary measure.
Quincy Honeycutt took on the challenge of playing from the left side instead of his usual spot on the right, which he normally shares with Aguilar. Hampton, David Ganley, Lapinski, Thomas Moss, Bennett Munson and Hamilton all took on more responsibilities in attack.
Whether what the head coach described as lazy or just uncertainty from being in different roles, Watauga had moments of outstanding one- and two-touch passing that has become a Pioneer hallmark, as well as in outmaneuvering Spartan opponents.
“Myers and Mawhinney give us a lot of speed and a lot of depth, missing them could explain some of the team’s (underperformance),” said Coach Honeycutt. “When you are used to playing on one side or the other, it is definitely an adjustment but we have to make it.”
To complete the regular season schedule, Watauga hopes to finish the 2024 Northwestern Conference competition undefeated when they travel to Hudson to face South Caldwell in their Nov. 5 finale. Then the Pioneers will await knowing their fate for the playoffs, for which Round 1 begins on Saturday, Nov. 9, time and opponent to be determined.
If Watauga wins on Nov. 5 in the regular season finale, the Pioneers will take a 16-3-2 record into the playoffs. As the top 4A team in the Northwestern Conference, High Country Sports predicts the Pioneers will receive a No. 3 or No. 4 seeding in the NCHSAA 4A West bracket, but MaxPreps currently has Watauga ranked No. 13 in a 4A West headed by Winston-Salem area powerhouse West Forsyth (20-1-2), Charlotte-based Myers Park (16-0-2), and Lake Norman (19-2-1).
Other highly ranked teams likely to get Round 1 home games include Reagan (17-4-2), Northwest Guilford (19-2), Garinger (18-4-1), Ardrey Kell (15-2-5), Cox Mill (16-4-2), Charlotte Catholic (16-4), Marvin Ridge (13-4-2), Asheville (15-2-1), and Grimsley (17-4-1).
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