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Martinsville's Blake Collins (15) attempts to score against Pulaski on Thursday. Collins later scored the game's only goal, sending the Bulldogs to the region title match today. (Bulletin photo by Mike Wray) |
Friday, May 29, 2009
By JOHNNY BUCK - Bulletin Sports Editor
Close playoff games have a way of creating unexpected stars — just ask Martinsville’s Blake Collins.
The senior sweeper scored his first varsity goal Thursday, propelling the Bulldogs to a 1-0 win over Pulaski County in the Region IV Semifinals at Martinsville.
After Garrett VanNutt’s cornerkick sailed to the far side of the field, Robbie Armbrister collected the ball and reset the play.
His poke pass toward the middle found Collins waiting unguarded near the 18-yard line, giving him time to “try to see where the goalie was” before sending it into the far upper corner, sparking a red-and-white celebration.
And while Collins, a three-year varsity veteran, certainly didn’t taunt Pulaski (12-9-1 overall) following the game winner, his post-play reaction was a bit unorthodox.
“I got pretty excited. I was like, ‘Hey, I’m going to pick up the ball and run it back to the middle. It’s our field,’” Collins explained. “So I started picking it up (and) the ref stops me. I thought I might need to put it down before I got a little card shown.”
He avoided the penalty, and the Bulldogs avoided an end to their 14-game winning streak.
“We were a little off. We survived tonight’s match, but we’ve got to get back to the point of stringing those good games together,” said MHS coach Pete Scouras.
On the other side of the scoreboard, Pulaski County’s Mike Price was left to deal with an emotional conclusion of his own, as the coach saw 12 seniors leave the field for a final time.
“We just made one mistake in the backfield, and that was it,” he said of a defensive miscue that created Martinsville’s cornerkick opportunity. “They caught us offguard on that (corner), and we didn’t get back in time.”
The Bulldogs (19-2 overall) out-shot Pulaski County 13-6 and held an 8-0 advantage in cornerkicks. Still, PCHS had several golden opportunities to tie late in the second half, including a breakaway opportunity by the Cougars’ Logan Haynes that concluded with the ball passing just over the crossbar.
Martinsville goalkeeper Will Reynolds added another shutout to his state-record total of 52 while recording six saves on the night, including a clutch lunge in the game’s final moments to prevent potential overtime.
“I thought in the first half, we kind of controlled it,” Scouras said of the game’s tempo. “After that, we kind of backed off and just held on. We needed to have a couple more, because they’re a great team.”
The Bulldogs didn’t get a couple more, but they did get the chance to face Blacksburg at 6 p.m. in tonight’s regional championship home game.
MHS has also secured the program’s first state tournament berth since the 2005 season.
Regardless of tonight’s outcome against the Bruins, MHS will play Tuesday for a chance to reach the final four. The location and opponent for that game have yet to be determined.
Scouras wasn’t looking ahead to the state tourney, however. Blacksburg has had its way with MHS in recent years, including 4-0 and 7-0 regional semifinal wins in 2007 and ’08, respectively.
“They have owned us, but it’s not impossible,” Scouras said of facing the Bruins, a team he’s beaten just once in his 21-year career. “We’ve beat ’em before, and we’ve got to go in there and beat them again.”
There’s no telling who might be the star of tonight’s showdown, but perhaps Collins will get a few more chances to play near the net.
“He’s always dying for me to put him in to get in scoring position,” Scouras said of the Bulldogs’ latest offensive threat. “He knows he’s got the green light (to shoot), and I’m glad he took it.”
BOX SCORE
Martinsville 1
Pulaski County 0
First Half
M – B. Collins goal. R. Armbrister, G. VanNutt asts. 21:19.
Second Half
No scoring.
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