North Cross Cruises to VIS Div. 2 Semifinals

North Cross senior #2 Wes Bonelli collects a header past Eagle’s Tuckyr Cantrell Monday afternoon.

North Cross came out of the gate red hot, scoring five goals in the opening half, and the Raiders easily dispatched Fredericksburg Christian 5-0 in the VIS Division-2 state soccer quarterfinal Monday afternoon at Thomas Field.

Raider scoring machine Ezra Zigarwi found the net three minutes in, and when junior Chris Pollock sent one home nine minutes later, the Raiders were up 2-0 and the onslaught was in motion.

Zigarwi and Pollock would each add a second goal, followed by a header by sophomore Christian Entleitner that sent North Cross to the halftime break with the 5-0 cushion.

The Raiders went liberally to the bench in the second half with the outcome safe. Fredericksburg managed just two shots, both in the final half. One was wide and the other, from just left of the Raider goal, was promptly brought in by North Cross junior goal keeper Bennett Holly.

North Cross, which improved to 22-0 on the season, advanced to the Division-2 semifinal set for Thursday against Trinity-Meadowview at VCU in Richmond.

“I wasn’t expecting this one to be this easy,” North Cross head coach James Brown noted. “We had several scouting reports about their top two scorers and knew they had a pair of Division-I college prospects. We did a good job of shutting them out.”

Brown said the undefeated Raiders are the best he’s seen at North Cross in a long time.

“It’s going to be tough,” he added of the playoff run. “Every time you go out there, the target’s  on your back. We just have to put the work in to get it done. We still have our work cut out for us.”

The collision course remained intact with number-two seed Carlisle, who the Raiders defeated twice in physical matches on Thomas Field. If they meet for a third time, it will be in the final on Friday afternoon in Richmond.

BILL TURNER match story/photo

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Related Articles