BY TOM DIMARTINO
EDENTON — Under a thunderous barrage of Aces’ goals, in a second-round playoff match, the Rosewood Eagles drew their season’s last breaths, and succumbed at Purser Field on Tuesday evening — 8-0!!!
The Aces (16-5-3) are now 11-1 in their last twelve outings, having conceded eleven goals in that span, and scored fifty-six.
The Royal and Gold, who are ranked # 4 in class in NC by High School OT.com, will host Durham’s Voyager Academy, 12th seed in the bracket, on Monday at five o’clock PM at Purser Field, in a third-round playoff match.
Whoever wins the that match will face the winner of the Manteo (seeded 1st) v Triangle Math and Science (seeded 8th). So like the storied matchup between Duke and Chapel Hill, we could have an Aces v Redskins’ rivalry matchup in tourney play. Remember, how this looked matchup ended the other week — click the link.
Back to the playoff game — the Eagles had outdueled Gates County two days previously in a competitive first-round matchup, but had no answers to the Aces’ relentless midfield pressure and defensive cohesion.
Edenton laid on the first heavy leather at about thirteen minutes, on a magnificent lightening counter out of the back. Ayden Furlough outpaced his mark on a ball played wide to space down the left wing. Furlough carried the ball at speed almost to the end line, before delivering a superbly driven low centering ball.
Conference scoring leader Peyton Mattera, on a sublimely timed run, at full pace, met Furlough’s sharp cross at the six-yard stripe, redirected the ball with a soft, deft touch of the inside of the right boot, and bulged the onion bag for the Royal and Gold.
Not many minutes had passed before Mattera figured in another tally. Having dusted his mark down the right flank, Mattera turned the corner and accelerated toward goal. With legal options exhausted, a Rosewood defender took Mattera down from behind. The penalty kick was awarded and conference assist leader Elvis Manzo finished coolly.
Sophomore midfielder Samson Feamster cemented the Aces’ position with a stunner. With Feamster twenty-two yards out, Mattera provided a quality square service on the carpet at the eighteen; Feamster stepped to the ball and, on first touch, drove a bending, diving scorcher that curled away from the keeper and buried itself deep in the netting of the left side of the goal.
Mattera had a foot in two more goals on the night, scoring his second in the final stanza, and providing an assist to senior flanker Reece Seal. Manzo, likewise tallied a brace, while providing an assist.
At about sixty minutes, head coach Robert Turner began to empty the bench. Near the end of time, freshman Payne Whealton thrilled the crowd with a lovely strike on a Manzo corner, finishing inside the far post, and completing the night’s scoring. The final count was Aces 8:0 Rosewood.
Coach Turner praised the team’s discipline in trusting and applying the game plan. Assistant Coach Thomas Di Martino expressed appreciation for the intensity of the Aces’ midfield play, which defused Rosewood’s over-the-top attack template. The Aces’ clean sheet underlines another sterling performance by the Royal and Gold’s back line, anchored by center backs Kaden Parker and Tre’shaun Rankins.
Good story, Tom
Go Aces!
2025 NCHSAA Men’s Soccer Championships