Published August 23, 2009
The Charlotte Observer
By Herb White
Charlotte Latin set itself up for success Saturday at the Soccer for a Cure tournament.
Will McGinnis' tally off a free kick in the 60th minute capped the host Hawks' 3-2 win against Ardrey Kell at Patten Stadium. McGinnis' decisive shot came two minutes after Harper Williams tied the count with a blast inside the far post from about 20 yards out off David Limentani's free kick.
“With set pieces, they're usually the ones that determine the outcome of the game,” McGinnis said. “We always talk about how the set pieces are the most dangerous thing at the end of the game. When it came down to it, it won the game for us.”
McGinnis did his part, connecting on a play he struggled with in practice to boost Latin, No. 4 in the Observer's Sweet 16, to 4-1.
“Yesterday we worked on set pieces and I hit one just like that and it hit the post,” he said. “I wanted it again today and put it in the exact place I wanted it, the back of the net.”
Latin struck early on Conor Keeley's high-arching tally in the eighth minute, but fell behind on goals by Ardrey Kell's Alex Antonescu and Drew Benningfield. Instead of panicking like they did in a 1-0 loss to South Mecklenburg Thursday, the Hawks stuck with a consistent plan.
“South's a great team, but we wanted to beat them so badly it got in the way of playing our style of soccer,” Hawks coach Lee Horton said.
“Today when we got behind we played our style of soccer and came back and won the game.”
That lesson wasn't lost on the Hawks.
“The second goal, Harper Williams, that was a great strike,” McGinnis said. “We got the momentum, and then we got the (winning) kick and that was the deciding factor right there.”
To view online, go to www.charlotteobserver.com.