Pineda’s penalty kick leads Canes past Cherokee
February 5, 2024
DJ Paradis
With a squad heavy on youth, Cartersville withstood an early onslaught from a senior-laden Cherokee team to surprise the Warriors 1-0 in the season opener in Canton on Friday, Feb. 2
The Canes aren’t without upperclassmen of their own. Senior Yosvanni Pineda’s penalty kick from 30 yards out in the fourth minute of the second half just cleared the goalie, giving the Canes a 1-0 lead while fellow senior goalie Avery Sexton kept shots out of the net in the first half.
Cherokee placed a potential game-tying goal in the 23rd minute of the second half that was disallowed due to offsides.
Goalkeeping proved key to the Canes’ victory, with freshman Cash Priest turning away several close shots in the second half. That included a point-blank blast midway through the second half turned away by a diving Priest and a low burner through the defense with eight minutes to play.
Sophomore striker Colby Craig almost gave the Canes some insurance late in the game, but his volley off another Pineda penalty kick went just left of the goal.
Canes coach DJ Paradis said the game revealed a lot about his team.
“Coming in, I wasn’t sure what to expect because we’re so inexperienced,” he said. “We survived the first half and then made a tactical change at halftime to go with five backs, three in center and two at the wings. We kept the three center mids and put one more forward up top. That put more pressure on their back line because we were playing long out of the back.
“We were able to cut their passes off when they were trying to move it around the back. It stymied their attack enough that we could get into a position to take the ball off their foot and push the attack.”
His young goalie’s second-half play to preserve the win was crucial.
“That’s a team with nine starting seniors over there,” said Paradis of Cherokee. “Cash had a great first night and balled out. I don’t know what else you can say.”
The Canes play their home opener on Tuesday, Feb. 6 in Weinman Stadium against Cedartown. Kickoff is set for 7:30.
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