Bulldogs soccer team tops Westover
for division title

by Reginald Rogers
Paraglide

	photos by Reginald Rogers/Paraglide Albritton’s Nicolas Crader battles for the ball against a Westover defender during the Oct. 29 game against the Wolverines. With the win, Albritton won the division 2 championship and is set to face division 1 champion John Griffin for the city championship tonight at Reid Ross Classical High school. The game is set for 7 p.m.

For the Albritton boys soccer team, the task was
understood — defeat Westover, finish the regular season undefeated and prepare to face John Griffin Middle School in the conference championship.

Once the dust had cleared and time had expired, two of the three tasks were complete.

The Albritton Bulldogs topped the Westover Middle School Wolverines 9-0 Friday to make a statement going into tonight’s matchup against the tough, and also undefeated John Griffin team.

The Bulldogs wasted no time in scoring, as several players, including forward Freddy Nguma blasted the ball past the Wolverine goalie and into the net.
The team also provided a tough defensive effort, containing the Wolverines to mid-field for most of the first half.

Albritton head coach, Mark Robins, said he was please with his team’s play for most of the game. Robins remained quiet for most of the game as his disciplined team proceed to dismantle the Wolverine kickers throughout the contest.

“I can’t complain,” he said, following the game. “They did pretty well the second half, when they started talking. Once they started talking and settled down, they played like a team and it showed. The first (half) was a little rough in getting settled.”
Robins pointed out that despite his team’s perfect record, it faces a tough battle against the John Griffin Pirates tonight.

“We’re in division two and we won the division today,” Robins said. “Even if we had lost today, we would’ve won the division, so now we play division one champion John Griffin and they’re a beast.
“It was a toss-up between them and Pine Forest because they tied, but they ended up going to the championship because Pine Forest also tied Max Abbott,” Robins explained.

He said the Pirates, like any team, could be beaten, but only through good execution and defense.

“(We’ve got to focus on) the one-touch pass and get it in,” said Robins, who has won two conference championships in his three seasons at the school. “I have the guys in the middle, but they’re not putting it in. Those guys, Freddy happens to be one of them, all they have to do is take the one-touch pass and put it in, he won’t have a problem. If we can’t do that, it’s going to be an ugly day.”

Albritton has become one of the soccer powerhouses among Cumberland County middle schools. According to Robins, last season Albritton’s boys and girls teams won championships.

Nguma, who is originally from Africa, has been in the Fayetteville-Fort Bragg area for a little more than a year now. He said he has played soccer for most of his life. He was formerly a member of the Westover team that he helped to defeat, but transferred to Albritton once his parents moved on post.

As with most soccer players, the 12-year-old Nguma said his favorite part of the game is scoring goals.

“I think we played pretty good,” he said after the Westover game. “I’m happy that we won, but next week will be tougher.”

John Griffin sports an undefeated 5-0-1 record, with their only tie coming at the hands of the Pine Forest Trojans.

Tonight’s championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Reid Ross Classical High School on Ramsey Street.