Fort Dorchester took Pinewood Prep into overtime on the soccer pitch March 28 but then the Panthers broke the stalemate to claim a 1-0 win.
The cross-league match between the Dorchester County boys’ soccer teams was highly competitive. Each squad created several scoring opportunities, but the defenses repeatedly fended off the attacks.
“Tonight was a real battle between two good teams,” said Pinewood coach Luke Williams. “Both defenses played really well, so I was just hoping for one bit of magic from our guys, and we got that to win it. Overall, there is still room for us to improve, but there were definitely some positives for us. Hopefully, every game, we can continue to just get a little better.”
Pinewood had a couple of opportunities in the final 10 minutes of regulation. Following a throw-in, the Panthers sent in a nice shot that sailed out of the reach of Fort keeper Finn Baltgalvis. However, defender Andrew Smith was in place to deflect the ball away from the goal. A few minutes later, Baltgalvis went up in a crowd and punched a shot away for a save.
In the first minute of the first overtime period, another deflection set up the game’s only score. Pinewood’s Briggs Gwozdo was in place to receive the deflection and drill a shot into the net to break the tie.
The Panthers’ defense held through the rest of the period and the second overtime period to clinch the win. Coleman Fulkerson had the shutout in goal.
Pinewood, the defending SCISA Class 3A boys soccer champion, improved to 4-3-3 on the season with a 2-1 mark in its region. Fort Dorchester fell to 5-7 with a 1-1 mark in its region.
“Last year was a great year for us,” Williams said. “We won a state championship so this year everyone knows that and is coming at us a lot harder. More of our games have been a struggle, not necessarily because we played bad but because the other team was up for the match.”
While the team is working to replace some key players from this past year’s team, the coach is optimistic about the Panthers’ chances of making another deep playoff run.
“We lost six seniors last year, and three of them played center midfield, so that is big,” Williams said. We have filled it with a couple of freshmen and a football player. I was a bit uneasy at the beginning of the year when I saw what we had, but now I’d say boys are filling those shoes. The freshmen have adjusted to the varsity size.”
Pinewood has a string of home games on the horizon. The Panthers host Charleston Collegiate at 5: 30 p.m. April 8, Stratford at 7:30 p.m. April 9, Northwood Academy at 6:30 April 15 and Cane Bay at 7:30 p.m. April 19.
