Boys soccer: Ashbrook, Lincolnton knocked out of playoffs

HICKORY — Hickory scored a goal early in each half, then withstood a furious rally by Ashbrook in the second half as the Red Tornadoes defeated the Green Wave 3-1 in the quarterfinal round of the state soccer playoffs.

Hickory (24-1-2) will host Charlotte Catholic (23-0-1) in the West Region final Wednesday night. The Cougars earned their spot in the final with a 3-0 win over Concord on Saturday night.

The Red Tornadoes started quickly in the opening minute as Carlos Sevilla found Michael DeLong on a breakaway down the middle. However, DeLong’s shot banged off the crossbar and out of play. A header by Chris Dixon six minutes later also deflected wide.

The Red Tornadoes finally scored at the 10-minute mark on a play similar to the opening minute salvo. Drew Hilton hit a long ball from deep in his own territory to Robert Liljeberg, who outran the defender to the ball and scored from 10-yards out to give Hickory a 1-0 lead.

“We weren’t sure what they had on the back line as far as speed goes,” said Hickory head coach Brian Jillings. “We thought maybe we had some opportunities going around the outside, but also the middle was open too. We got some guys up top that can fly.”

Meanwhile, Ashbrook (20-3-2) managed only one strong scoring chance on a shot by Juan Villa from inside the penalty area that was corralled by goalkeeper Julian Deutsch.

The Sevilla-to-DeLong connection again opened the first minute of the second half, as Sevilla steered a pass to DeLong, who drilled a 25-yard shot past Cloyd to give Hickory a 2-0 lead.
However, the Green Wave finally got their offense going as Ronnie Hernandez took a touch pass near midfield and fed Villa, who dribbled the ball then found the net from 18-yards out to cut the lead to 2-1.

“I think we just picked up our game a little bit,” said Ashbrook coach Joel Webb. “We had to get use to the field conditions here. The grass is really high. It just feels like you’re inside a small little area that you’re trying to play soccer, so we had to adjust and it took us that long to adjust to the game.”

The Green Wave had a chance to tie on a free kick from 20 yards out at the 28-minute mark. However, a shot by Hernandez went into the Red Tornadoes’ defensive wall, and the shot off the rebound by Casey Frey went over the goal. One minute later a shot by Villa out of the corner went through the crease.

“We did a good job of winning balls in the air and on the ground,” said Jillings. “We left it all on the field. They just did everything we could’ve asked as far as defensemen and our goalie.”

Hickory tacked on a goal late in the game as Sevilla was fouled in the penalty area in the final minute. Betzwieser took the penalty kick and scored with 37-seconds remaining for the final margin.

“We didn’t give up; we kept fighting,” Webb said. “I’m proud of the guys who kept fighting. We had a chance until they blew the whistle there at the end.”

2A soccer playoffs

Surry Central 2, Lincolnton 1 — Lincolnton’s run in the 2A state soccer playoffs ended in the quarterfinals with a road loss Saturday. Lincolnton, the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference champion, finished its season with an 18-4-1 record. Surry Central (21-2-2) will face Forbush or Shelby for the regional championship.