ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 9, 1996 TAG: 9605090064
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
THE CAVE SPRING KNIGHTS rout the Indians in a marquee matchup of Timesland boys' soccer teams.
On paper, Wednesday's soccer match between Blacksburg and Cave Spring seemed to be one of the season's best boys' matchups in Timesland.
The Indians are the defending Group AA champions and have been tabbed as the team to beat in 1996.
The Knights, the defending Roanoke Valley District champions, came into the contest sporting a 10-1 mark, with the only loss coming against nationally ranked C.D. Hylton of Woodbridge.
Proving that games are won on the field and not on the stat sheet, Cave Spring dominated Blacksburg 5-2.
With the win, the Knights (11-1) avenged their only loss in 1995, a 2-1 setback at the hands of the Indians (7-4-2).
``Before the season started, we said one of our goals was to beat Blacksburg,'' said Bruce Mahan, Cave Spring's coach. ``Last season's loss gave us a lot of incentive to win tonight.''
Knight senior forward and co-captain Andy Newton led the attack, scoring a pair of goals in his final home game.
``We were very focused on winning this game,'' Newton said. ``We just wanted the game more than they did tonight.''
Cave Spring dominated play in the match's first 25 minutes, scoring three goals on seven shots against Blacksburg's 1995 All-Timesland goalie, Ben Pinkerton.
Pinkerton ``is a great keeper,'' Mahan said. ``Our strategy was to attack him from the flanks to take away his athleticism.''
While the Knights' front line was putting on the pressure in the opening half, their defense held the Indians to five shots. For the game, Cave Spring outshot the visitors 19-10.
``We started out a little flat and they came out hot,'' said Shelley Blumenthal, Blacksburg's coach. ``Ben did a great job in goal tonight. He had to make a lot of tough saves against some breakaways. We start a young defense, and he does a great job of directing them.''
Cave Spring struck first on a goal by Grant Cartner in the game's third minute. Cartner gathered a deflected ball inside the box and lofted a shot over Pinkerton to make it 1-0.
Six minutes later, the Knights scored again, this time when wing Brian Sharp outraced the Indians' defense to put back a deflected shot from Chris Hewitt.
The Indians finally broke through on a goal by Stefano Karmis in the 27th minute. Karmis' header off a Jason Randolph corner cut the lead to 3-1.
``This was a big game for us because the district tournament is coming up soon,'' Mahan said. ``You need to play tough games like this to get prepared.''
see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 59 linesby CNB