Soccer: New Bern’s season ends in first round [Sun Journal, New Bern, N.C.]

Oct. 30--New Bern's soccer players found some energy early in the second half.

Sophomore Tyler Oakley booted the ball into the back of the net, cutting the Bears' deficit in half.

But the Bears couldn't maintain their vigor, as they fell to Raleigh Millbrook, 3-1, in the first round of the NCHSAA 4A state playoffs Tuesday at Caruso-Coates Stadium in New Bern.

"I thought our goal gave us a little more energy. We had it for about five or 10 minutes, but just ran out of steam," New Bern coach Tim Guter said.

New Bern (11-6-3) found itself down two goals at halftime.

Millbrook's Kyle LaCivita scored seven minutes in and John Janezic netted a goal in the 29th minute.

"They just outplayed us. They moved the ball around exceptionally well," Oakley said.

"With our conference not being as strong as it was last year, we weren't really prepared going into the game."

The Bears gained a bit of momentum when junior Austin Murphy placed a ball over a defender and right to Oakley who took a couple dribbles and blasted it past Millbrook goalkeeper Andrew Fiest.

"Every time we score, it boosts our team up. We played a little better in the second half," Oakley said. "Squirrel (Austin Murphy) gave me a good ball up top and I kept my composure and finished it."

New Bern's sophomore goalkeeper John Tayloe kept his team in the game with several superb saves, including a couple diving deflections.

Tayloe, playing only in the second half, notched 10 saves.

"John is a great goalkeeper. I love the guy to death," Oakley said. "He is one of my best friends. He keeps his composure, doesn't get too excited and we are grateful to have him."

Millbrook (11-7-3) tacked on an insurance goal in the 23rd minute of the second half. The Wildcats ripped 19 shots on goal and had five corner kick opportunities.

New Bern connected on eight shots.

"They are a very good team, coming out of the Raleigh conference," Guter said. "We got beat by a very good team.

"We just didn't have enough opportunities in front of their goal to make it a game."

For the first time in five years or so, New Bern hosted a first-round playoff game. It finished in a three-way tie with D.H. Conley and J.H. Rose for the regular-season Eastern Carolina Conference title.

"We let the conference slip away from us," Guter said. "It was in our control to win it outright and we had a couple bade games.

"When we are not used to playing at a high level for an entire season, but I thought we played our hearts out all season."

Seniors Reese Gifford, Htoo Soe, Clark McAden, Wyatt Howell, Sam Stevick, Jessie Roth and Logan Henderson played their final game for the Bears.

They have a talented group of underclassmen ready to build on this year's experience, namely Tayloe, Oakley, Xander Vizcarrondo, Neeko Helbich, Aaron Bordaes, Tanner Brown, Charlie Doty, Garrett Rhodes, Harrison Futch, Antonio Babic, Christian Rust, Murphy, Roman Rodriguez and Daniel Rust.

"It's a great step," Oakley said. "We are lucky to have our seniors. They played their butts off. We are going to build from this point on.

"Next year, we will be exceptional with all the juniors we have this year and how young we are. We are going to keep playing faster and faster."

Adam Thompson can be contacted at 252-635-5669 or at [email protected]. Follow Adam on Twitter @Adam_matic.

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