Forestview advances to soccer third round for fourth straight year
GASTONIA – When Forestview High’s soccer team finished in third place in the Big South 3A Conference regular-season race, there was little reason to suspect the Jaguars would again advance to the third round of the state playoffs.
But the healthier, happier Jaguars have done just that after Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Fred T. Foard.
Forestview (14-8) will advance to the third round of the state playoffs for the fourth straight season – and sixth time in eight seasons. The Jaguars will play again Wednesday at the winner of Saturday’s St. Stephens at Asheville playoff game.
“We had a rough spot there in the regular season,” said Forestview coach David Shearer, whose team went 8-4 in league play to finish behind Ashbrook and Hunter Huss. “We had an unusual amount of injuries and we were hit by the flu. But we’re finally healthy, playing well and coming together.”
The Jaguars took charge of the contest quickly, as Justin Henry scored off a Price Martin assist in the game’s 18th minute.
Forestview tacked on two goals in the second half – one each by Josh Lane and Carter Wong – to cap the playoff victory.
“We knew coming in they were a hard-working and good team,” Shearer said of Foard, which finished its season 14-8-1. “We knew we’d have to work around their pressure with possession. That early goal really helped.”
Shearer felt he got a great deal of balance and production from his team, but was particularly pleased with junior midfielder Martin, who had two assists in the game.
“He provided a lot of offense from the wing,” Shearer said of Martin. “But I was pleased with our overall effort. We had a lot of good performances tonight.”
