Written by Christian Bateman
Currituck — Manteo was stunned early Wednesday night when the Knights struck with two back-to-back goals in under 40 minutes, putting the 2A defending State Champions on their heels.
The two early first-half goals, along with a goal that was later taken off the board, frustrated the Redskins and seemed to become a pivotal moment in the match. Manteo struggled to find its rhythm, preventing its strikers and midfielders from getting fully into the flow of the game against Currituck.
Although Manteo was able to slow Currituck down in the second half and statistically generate more shots on goal, the Knights' ability to body up Manteo's key offensive threat, Alex Reyes, hindered the Redskins from reaching their full potential in the attacking third.
Currituck head coach Davies said the win was the result of a group that has continued to improve throughout the season.
“It’s been a process, we had to be serious, we had to take practice seriously and have just been working on playing as a unit and this group finally proved that they could do that.”
Despite the score, Manteo had several opportunities, including close-range chances in the attacking third from its strikers. However, the Redskins could not capitalize.
Reyes had several good looks late in the second half after scoring Manteo's first goal, but Currituck's goalkeeper was determined to build a stone wall in front of the net.
Davies knows the magnitude of a win like this will only increase the urgency within the Currituck locker room as the season continues.
Davies also spoke highly of Reyes and the Manteo program when discussing the challenge of slowing down the Redskins' standout attacker.
“That kid is a beast. I got so much respect for him. It’s hard not to respect a caliber of a program like that because that team puts out every year.”