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Swansboro's Sarah Mann on Saturday.
The Daily News / John Althouse
Pirates soccer escapes Panthers
Kinder's goal lifts Swansboro
SWANSBORO - Lauren Kinder made sure Swansboro would not get upset this early in the soccer postseason.
The junior scored with 8 minutes, 51 seconds remaining off an assist from junior Sarah Mann to lift the Pirates to a 1-0 victory over East Duplin Saturday in the second round of the NCHSAA 2-A playoffs.
Kinder played Mann's long crossing pass from the right corner before shooting the ball from near the left post. From there Swansboro managed to hold on and record its third win this season over the Panthers.
"From the time Lauren goes in she is an aggressive player," said Pirates head coach Derick Jenkins. "She is motivated, she gets physical and she moves off the ball as well as she does with the ball."
The Pirates (17-3-1), the East Central 2-A Conference champion, advanced into a third-round meeting next week at South Brunswick following its second one-goal win over East Duplin (12-9-1), a wild card from the ECC. Swansboro won the first meeting with the Panthers 3-2 before claiming a 5-0 victory over its Beulaville-based foe last week.
"Give East Duplin credit for coming out strong; they were hungry for it and we knew they would be ready to play," Jenkins said. "But we turned things around in our favor and once we got settled we put things together."
The Pirates coach stressed all it took was time for his club to settle. Swansboro had been off since last Friday, thanks to its first-round bye. The Panthers were coming off Wednesday's win over North Brunswick.
"In the second half we control possession about 65-70 percent of the time," Jenkins said. ‘East Duplin still had good runs ... we had more looks."
The Pirates recorded a 12-8 advantage in shots on frame. Swansboro sophomore goalkeeper Jenny Bolton registered four saves as her squad notched its third consecutive shutout and 10th overall.
Kelsey Sumner made six saves for East Duplin.
"We gave them too much room in the 18, but once we settled down we started forcing them out more," said Jenkins. "Then we started penetrating their goal a little more.
"All we had to do was settle in our normal game plan."
Swansboro now prepares for a South Brunswick program that defeated the Pirates in last year's playoff. A Swansboro third-round win, combined with a Richlands triumph over First Flight, would mean the two local rivals would square off for a third time, only this time it would be in the regional semifinal.
East Duplin 0 0 - 0
Swansboro 0 1 - 1
GOALS - S: Kinder. ASSISTS - S: Mann. IN GOAL -ED: Sumner (6 seaves). S: Jenny Bolton (4 saves). SHOTS ON GOAL - ED 8, S 12. CORNER KICKS - ED 2, S 4. RECORDS - ED: 12-9-1, season complete. S: 17-3-1, at South Brusnwick Wednesday in third round.
