news-record.com

GREENSBORO — To appreciate how well the Page soccer team is playing, just watch how beautifully they don't score.

Glen Long dribbles carefully with his right foot; without looking, he slips the ball behind him with his left foot to a streaking Rob Lovejoy, who one-touch crosses it to a waiting Mamadee Nyepon in front of an empty net.

That's the only step that doesn't go to plan — Nyepon's shot sails wide and all three hold their hands behind their heads in disbelief, the unspoken message being that they expect to score every time they touch the ball.

But there was still enough offense to go around Monday night, as the Pirates used an early goal by Lovejoy to defeat Charlotte Myers Park 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the NCHSAA 4-A playoffs.

The Pirates, the last undefeated team in the bracket at 20-0-2, will host their semifinal match at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Asheville T.C. Roberson.

"This is the time of year when the cream rises to the top," Page head coach Mohamed Jaziri said. "Now it becomes an issue of, all things being equal, the will to win, a level of stability in the brain to be able to counter and not give up, and frankly, if you watched this game, luck."

Page's goal came 17 minutes in after a Hans Lohmeyer free kick from 35 yards out bounded over the defense and caught up with Lovejoy — just in time for a diving header past Myers Park goalkeeper Josh Brown. Lovejoy sprinted toward the corner and dove headfirst into the still muddy turf to celebrate.

The Pirates had all kinds of scoring chances. Most were created by Lovejoy, a sinewy striker who will play at UNC next season. He had a header that went just high, a point-blank shot that almost yielded a goal by Nyepon on the rebound and an end line set-up to Long in the final minutes that required a sprawling save by Brown.

"How many goals did we waste? We made this one a little tougher than we should have," Jaziri said. "It forces us to go back to the drawing board and make sure we're more balanced."

Myers Park had its chances, but Page goalkeeper Tom Jackson made eight saves and used his height to neutralize countless balls in the air. The last moment of jeopardy came on Jackson's one second-half mistake, a dropped save in the box in the 68th minute. It seemed destined for tragedy when a Myers Park attacker swept in and punched it toward an open net. The crowd held its breath. So did Page's Andrew Veazey, who said he had no time to think, just a split-second to boot the shot away at the last minute.

"Total reaction play," he said. "It was going right in the center of the net. I knew I had to get back there."

The crowd exhaled, then started chanting Veazey's name. He couldn't help it.

"I started smiling a little bit," he said.

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com

Page 1, Myers Park 0
Goals: Page — Rob Lovejoy. Assists: Page — Hans Lohmeyer. Shots: Myers Park 11, Page 16. Saves: Myers Park — Josh Brown 10; Page — Tom Jackson 8. Corner kicks: Myers Park 2, Page 5.
Records: Myers Park 16-3-3; Page 20-0-2.