Head Coach: Jeff Costa
Assistant Coach: DeLane Hayes
Manager: Aaron Jones
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Overall Record:    6 - 12        Conference Record: 2 - 4

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10/19 CA @ Providence 0-2

We did it.  We made the playoffs.  Quite a remarkable feat from where we were last year.  We were the 12 seed in a 12 team tournament.  We travelled all the way down to Charlotte to play a very well organized defensive unit.  It was a sloppy game with neither side imposing their will.  The were able to find the back of the net with 10 minutes to go in the 1st half.  Our adjustments at halftime increased our offensive pressure, but we could not capitalize.  With 10 minutes remaining they put in another.  This was the final game for 8 CA seniors.

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10/16 CA @ Ravenscroft 1-3

Can you believe it?  Last year we did not win a conference game and now with a win against Ravenscroft we would finish tied for second.  Apparently, we did not believe it either.  58 seconds into the game it was 0-1.  Four minutes later it was 0-2.  At halftime it was 1-3.  It was a terrible loss.  It might have knocked us out of the playoffs.

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10/15 CA v. Durham Academy 3-1

How would we play on our senior night?  This game was played under strange circumstances.  Because our conference has a weird rule, we had to resume a rained out match at the point we left off.  So, we started the game down 0-1 twelve minutes in.  I was worried that we would come out defeated beause of the deficit.  We came out smokin!!!  We played great the first half but did not score.  We were able to keep our high level of play going into the second half.  We tied the game with 18 minutes remaining.  The score remained tied at the end of regulation so we went to overtime.  In overtime we increased the pressure and scored two great goals.  A 3-1 victory on senior night against the #5 ranked team in the state is pretty sweet.

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10/12 CA @ Durham Academy 0-1

We played our hearts out tonight.  We did everything right but score.  We scared them to death on their senior night and alumni weekend.  They scored with 58 seconds left to win.

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October 9, 2007
CA @ Parrott Academy 0-2

I was proud of the way we played.  After a long bus ride and a terrible warmup, our team started out slow.  After ten  minutes of game action, we suddenly became Brazil.  We were making runs and crosses out of the back, our midfielders were attacking out wide, and our forwards were putting together combinations.  It was some real pretty soccer.  Despite giving up two goals, I thought we competed we with them.  We were missing two of our top offensive players but still managed to create several goal scoring chances.

Our final three games are all conference matches.  Currently we are in third place.  Friday and Monday we play Durham Academy.  Tuesday we play Ravenscroft.  If we will two of our final three I think we would get a playoff spot.  Maybe.

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October 5, 2007
CA v. NRAC 1-5

This was a good team that we played.  They are currently ranked #2 and have one of the best players in the state.  I think we were a little intimidated.  They scored 29 seconds into the match.  I don't believe that helped our little intimidation problem.  We were forced to make some adjustments due to the score and injuries.  Many of our players were forced to play in positions unfamiliar to them.  We tried hard but we were a step slower than them.  This game gave us a good look at the level that you have to play at in order to advance in the State Playoffs.

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September 28, 2007
CA vs. Ravenscroft 1 - 0

This was the final event in a fun schoolwide tailgate.  This was our second conference match and we knew it was important.  Unfortunately, that knowledge did not translate to our play on the field.  This was a Wizard of Oz game.  We were not playing with any heart, brains, or courage.  Our play was sloppy the whole game.  Fortunately, Ravenscroft was as sloppy as we were.  Both keepers made some pretty bigs saves as the game progressed.  It wasn't until stoppage time when an innocent free kick at midfield turned into the game winner.  Off the restart, our center back swung the ball out wide for our outside back.  He then sent a wonderful driven ball into the whole between their keeper and his defenders.  Their keeper came out, but our committed forward beat him to it and headed it by him for the game winner.  They came off the field crying and thinking that sorry old CA just stole a game frrm them.  I think the reality is that we played really poorly and still managed to make the plays to win the game.  I felt that we were much better than them.  We have five more games in the regular season.  Four of them are conference matches.  We will see if our play this past week is a stepping stone to future success or have we reached the top of the mountain too soon.

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September 25, 2007
CA vs. Wesleyan Academy  2 - 1

Was the previous game a fluke or would we continue to play with heart?  Right from the start we set the tone with hard tackles from everywhere on the pitch.  Our defense led our offense.  We started switching the field and constantly caught them unorganized.  We went up 2-0 early in the 1st half and that did wonders for our confidence.  True to form, we gave up a goal with less than 5 minutes till halftime.  We took a 2-1 lead into the half.   We battled and scrapped for the next 40 minutes.  Neither team could find the net.  That's okay because when the whistle blew we had the win.  It was a whale of a game.  They were better than us but we made the plays to win the game.  That is what you have to do.  We played with a tremendous amount of heart.

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September 28, 2007
CA @ St. David's 0 - 2

Since we had been struggling with commitment on the field, the coaching staff decided to shake up the line up.  We inserted "energy" guys into the lineup hoping for a spark.  The result was our best game played to date.  We tackled hard, passed with a purpose, and created goal scoring opportunities.  We were committed.  We were so proud of the way we played.  Our opponent was the defending state champion in 2A and we looked like the more dangerous team.  Finally, we played with some heart!!!

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September 20, 2007
CA vs. Greensboro Day School 1 - 6

This was the make up of a game we were winning 1-0 before lightning showed up.  Neither lightning nor our varsity team showed up for the replay.  We were listless and uninspiring from the opening whistle.  We completely folded after their first goal.  As the rain poured down, we did not compete and they kept scoring.  We were not competitive and we were not committed.

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September 18, 2007
CA @ North Raleigh Christian Academy 2 - 5

We scored two very good goals.  They scored five.  We competed for a half.  They competed for the whole game.  We were disappointed with our execution.  They were better than us but we should have done better.  A few players led the post game speech.  Their topic:  Being Committed on the Field.

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September 12, 2007
CA vs. Franklin Academy 7 - 0

We had already beaten Franklin Academy 10-0 in the St. Davids tournament.  I was worried that we would take them lightly and not play as a team.  There was the potential for players doing too much 1on1 stuff to pad their stats.  As it turned out, our ball movement and player movement was exceptional.  Instead of forcing everything up the middle we attacked from the flanks.  All seven of our goals were good soccer goals with several coming off crosses.

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Thursday 8/30 CA at Athens Drive 0-6

In our game against Athens Drive we completely dominated a 4A playoff team...for a half.  In the 1st half we hit the crossbar twice and missed several point blank chances.  They rarely threatened us.  We came off at halftime felling quite good.  The second half started and we gave up a goal in the first two minutes.  Then the wheels came off.  Final score 0-6.

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Tuesday 9/4 CA at FCDS 0-3

FCDS is the defending state champs and they are currently ranked #1.  We played them very well for most of the game.  We formed a perimeter around our net and allowed them to shoot from the outside.  Our keeper handled most everything well.  Just like our previous game, we gave up a goal two minute into the second half.  However, unlike the game against Athens Drive, we did not fall apart.  We continued to play hard for the rest of the match.  They scored two more goals against us that was due to their superior talent rather than our mistakes.  I was proud of the effort we displayed against such a top notch team.

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Saturday 8/25 CA v. Greenville Rose 3-2 The Brittany Showcase

This game started like many had in the past two years.  We started off well.  Then they scored.  It was a sad goal.  The player who took the shot, ran by our stationary defenders and scored his own rebound.  We showed no heart.  Five minutes later it happened again.  A player took a shot and put in his rebound while we stood and watched.  We looked visibly shaken.  We were fortunate that they did not score again that half.  Towards the end of the half, we used some nice passing to set up a goal that cut their lead in half.  The second half started and we had several scoring chances.  Our defense tightened up and our keeper didn't give up any rebounds.  We tied the game midway through the half off a beautiful flick from a pinpoint pass.  It looked like the game would end in a draw when a sweet give and go sequence from our forwards let to a break away and the winning goal. 

 This was by far the most satisfying win in my two years at the head of the soccer program.  We figured out a way to win and we expected to win.  It is difficult to change a culture of losing.  Hopefully, we can use this game, this result as a stepping stone to greater things.

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Friday 8/24  CA v.Cary Christian 0-5

We took the field after two excellent days of training.  We left the field shell-shocked.  Of the five goals that were scored, two were off corners and two were off free kicks.  All five goals were a direct result of mental errors on our part.  Old habits had resurfaced.  We left the school knowing that we had another match 12hrs later.

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Tuesday 8/21 CA v. Greensboro Day School 1-0 (halted by weather)

We welcomed the #6 ranked team in the state to our field and took it to them.  Our ball movment was strong, and our defensive intensity was committed.  Despite being outshot, we controlled much of the play in the first half.  We broke through their defense with a well placed flick and a strong desire-filled run that was finished nicely.  However, the game was called due to weather and will be made up 9/20 at CA.  When you have only won 4 games the year before, stuff like this happens.                       _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Friday 8/17 CA v. Calvary Baptist in the St. Davids Tournament  3-4

We came out flat in our season opener.  Despite scoring first, our lack of defensive presence in the midfield led to 4 first half goals.  We made the adjustments at half time and played very well in the second half.  We took numerous shots and rattled the post twice but could never find the equalizer.

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Saturday 8/18 CA v. Franklin Academy 10-0

We were a decidedly better team than Franklin Academy and it showed early on.  We scored three goals in the first 10 minutes.  We adjusted our style of play as to remain sharp and focused for the duration of the game.  We played with crossing restictions and touch limits the rest of the game.  Everyone who was able contributed to the win.

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