You undoubtedly have heard before that location often is the most important aspect in the survival of a business.
The same adage holds true in sports. After all, that’s why the saying, “right place at the right time” has become cliche.
That saying probably is most appropriate for soccer, where a well-timed run can give a player a chance to pounce on a rebound, or a service hit with the right touch can set up a team to cash in.
When those elements happen on the same play, beautiful things are the result.
Wyatt Allen will tell you it isn’t easy to produce plays like that. That’s why the Starkville Academy junior and his teammates spent about an hour Tuesday working on set pieces. The “trick” was to “figure out” how to get the right amount of air under corner kicks and to place them on the head or at the feet of other Volunteers.
That work paid off Wednesday, as Starkville Academy scored two goals off corner kicks and another one by crashing the goal box for a 3-1 victory against Heritage Academy in Columbus.
“We kind of had it figured out (after practice),” Allen said. “It kind of is repetition. Like I said, we worked on it for a while, so we finally figured out how to do it.”
Allen assisted on a goal by Porter McKee in the first half and another by Cameron McKee in the second half to help Starkville Academy improve to 4-3-1. The victory avenged a 2-1 loss to Heritage Academy in the team’s second match of the season.
Allen said he usually tries to play corner kicks to the same spot every time and relies on his teammates to make their designated runs. He said his teammates usually are able to get the job done if he can deliver the ball to the right spot.
“Normally our tallest guy is always kind of back post around the back of the six, and I always try to play it right back there so he can jump up and use his height,” Allen said. “A lot of it has been to get the other players to time their runs right. We timed our runs pretty well today.”
In the first half, Allen lined up a corner kick from the left corner and sent it toward the back post. Porter McKee was perfectly positioned and hit the ball solidly and sent it back to the lower left corner for a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, with Starkville Academy clinging to a 2-1 lead, Allen went to the near post to find Cameron McKee, a freshman. The ball skimmed off the top of McKee’s head into the goal. The score came just before the final whistle and prevented the Patriots (6-2) from coming all the way back after falling behind 2-0.
Dalton Dempsey scored Starkville Academy’s second goal after an initial save. Porter McKee also was in a group of players on the back post who were in position to tap the loose ball home.
Allen smiled when asked if the Volunteers have a “high sign” for him to use to signal when he is going near post or far post. He joked afterward that he has a video coming out on how to approach corner kicks. He hopes to have that video available soon on Facebook.
Andrews said the Volunteers worked on corner kicks because they have skilled players and good size, so he wanted to get as many touches on the ball to capitalize on the final pass. He said his team’s effectiveness paid dividends against a Heritage Academy team that he said makes it difficult for teams to get behind them.
“We have certain areas we try to target, and Wyatt is a good player, so he gets free choice when he is down there to decide where he wants to ping the ball,” Andrews said. “We know it is most difficult to play it over a keeper like that and for someone to crash behind. That is very hard to defend, so we try to do it against anyone.”
Heritage Academy coach Joe Asadi encouraged his players to challenge Starkville Academy more and to play quicker. He said the team might have been too overconfident following its fast start to the season, which until Wednesday included only a 2-0 loss to Jackson Academy. Ethyn Loreno sparked Heritage Academy when he, too, was in the right place to collect a rebound off a saved shot by Cameron Whittle. The loose ball trickled free to the left side, which allowed Loreno to tuck it home and cut the deficit in half.
Heritage Academy played with more energy in the second half and had several dangerous scoring opportunities. Early in the half, Whittle had a hard shot to the center of the goal that was chested down. Michael Ledbetter also had a one-timer off an errant attempt to clear the ball that went over the crossbar.
The Patriots also were in position for potential scoring chances prior to the Volunteers’ third goal.
Starkville Academy coach Cole Andrews said the Volunteers don’t have set plays that they run off corner kicks. He said the team used the time Tuesday in practice to get better at a part of the game that had produced at least four goals entering the match.
Starkville Academy will play Pillow Academy today as part of a stretch of five games in seven days. He said the team also will play Saturday and Monday.
“This is probably one of the better teams I have coached as far as working hard together,” Andrews said. “We still have areas to work on, but we are slowly starting to come together and making better passes and being calm.”
Heritage Academy will play Saturday at Madison-Ridgeland Academy.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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