North Duplin goalie Julio Gomez recorded 16 saves in a season-opening, 2-0 loss to Neuse Charter on Monday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
CALYPSO — Embrace the loss.
Learn the lesson.
Go back to work in practice.
New North Duplin head boys’ soccer coach Juan Carlos offered that sage advice in so many words Monday evening after a 2-0, season-opening loss to Neuse Charter.
The meeting also launched the teams’ respective Carolina 1A Conference campaigns.
“I’ve know they’ve got way more potential … looked opposite of how we have been training [in practice],” Carlos said. “I know we started late with our practices, but they did the opposite [tonight] of what we’ve done in practice.
“We’ve still got a lot of work, but I see the potential in them.”
The Rebels’ program fell into disarray after the untimely passing of previous head coach John Ross during the holidays.
Carlos was named head coach in late July, but didn’t receive board approval until August. He and ND athletics director Ricky Edwards felt the team should wait until Aug. 26 – the first day of school – to start practice.
North Duplin dropped its non-conference slate.
Despite the disappointing result, Carlos remained optimistic about his team’s initial performance of the season. He lauded the players’ communication, which has been prevalent in practice.
Position work needs some polishing.
The Rebels attempted a formation that broke down in the midfield. Instead of spreading the field and working the ball forward, Carlos’ team played bunched together.
Lazy passes rolled to the Cougars’ boots.
The miscues allowed Neuse Charter to generate consistent attacks on goal and keep Julio Gomez busy between the pipes. The North Duplin goalie logged 16 saves on 22 shots during the 80-minute affair.
“We really haven’t had enough time to practice [the formation], but that shouldn’t be an excuse,” Carlos said. “They’re great footballers. They should know what position they should be playing. We can fix that.”
North Duplin managed just nine shots on goal with four on frame — all saves by Cougar net-minder Knox Gipe.
Davis Arant tallied the Cougars’ first goal in the 9th minute. Teammate Connor Phillips scored in the 44th minute after he gathered a loose ball that resulted from a collision between Gomez and a teammate.
Each time Gomez crept too far off his line.
“He did have some great saves,” Carlos said. “He pressured himself too much with the quick play on the ground. Other than that, he’s a great keeper and I trust him one-hundred percent back there because I know that he can give us the best he’s got.
“After that second goal, everybody came down [mentally]. They need to work on their confidence, need to trust each other in order to win. They’re still learning each other.”
North Duplin fell to 5-3-1 in season openers since 2014. The Rebels and Cougars have split their last 10 conference encounters.
You may reach sports writer Rudy Coggins at prepswriter2@gmail.com or call/text 919-709-9257.
