The Queen’s Grant men’s soccer team lost the home opener to kick-off the season to  Greater Cabarrus in a non-conference contest.

Greater Cabarrus scored first midway through the first half on a rush by two attackers getting the ball easily past the Stallions goalkeeper. Then five minutes later the Stallions Micaiah Sechler would score the teams first goal of the season on a blast just past the diving Cabarrus goalkeeper to tie the score at 1-1 with Amado Rodriquez getting the assist. The two teams continued to matriculate the ball up and down the field. Suddenly, a breakdown in the Stallions defense inside the box would result in Cabarrus scoring their second goal with just one minute remaining in the half to take a 2-1 advantage into the intermission.

In the second half, the time of possession was dominated by Cabarrus who had taken control of the game with crisp passing and a more aggressive style of play on the field. They consistently beat the Stallions to the ball and appeared to have a full stride ahead of the home team who seemed confused and were slow to react.

Cabarrus padded their lead with another goal by applying more pressure on a defense that was playing back on their heels. Also, the goalkeepers for the Stallions need to step up to avoid second chance opportunities by catching and smothering shots instead of just blocking with their hands and giving the opponent an opportunity for an easy second shot into an open net. They need to do a better job in clearing out the zone.

There were two yellow cards handed out by the officials, one each to both teams with the Stallions coming in late in the second half which appeared out of frustration. The team needs to not lose their composure and remain focused on getting the job accomplished by playing solid defense.  Also, they need to turn it up a notch to another level to get the offense on track if they are to compete in their conference.

After the game coach Mark Guercio was not pleased with his teams performance and the boys were going back to work out some of the kinks to get them ready for their second game against Corvian Community School which is expected to be a tune-up contest prior to getting into their heavyweight schedule which includes some solid teams.

Team                         1st Half          2nd Half       Total

Greater Cabarrus           2                    1                3

Queen’s Grant                1                    0                1