Mar. 9—OXFORD — Senior day for the Vance Charter men’s soccer team went on with minimal issues on the field, as stellar play from their defense and senior goalkeeper Collin Montgomery resulted in a 3-0 shutout over East Wake Academy on Monday.
Head coach Johnny Yount credited his class of five seniors for the work they’ve put in to make Vance Charter a competitive program the last few years.
He singled out Collin as a key part of that transformation, whose father in state trooper Brent Montgomery remains hospitalized with a serious case of COVID-19.
“It was a really nice day,” Yount said. “I really wanted to get this shutout for Collin after everything that young man and his family have gone through. Our prayers continue to be with them, but I’m so happy for all these seniors. They’ve been instrumental in putting this program on the map.”
Yount did not believe the start of Monday’s matchup was executed properly, as East Wake Academy navigated their way through Vance Charter’s stagnant defense and managed to obtain several solid looks at the goal. Montgomery remained poised in the net and was able to help Vance Charter shift momentum in their direction with a handful of great saves. Senior Kirby Roberson would be the first to score for Vance Charter before another goal from junior Ryan Parker gave their team a 2-0 advantage at the intermission.
East Wake Academy tried to stay aggressive to even up the score in the second half, but Montgomery and the Vance Charter defense withstood every assault that came their way.
One last goal from Vance Charter senior Carson Long put the game out of reach for East Wake Academy and gave Vance Charter their fifth win of the season. While Montgomery only registered seven saves against East Wake Academy, he was determined to do everything possible to help Vance Charter on senior day with the community and several members of the Highway Patrol coming out to support him and his family while his dad fights for his life.
“There’s a lot of mixed emotions,” Montgomery said. “I’m sad, because I wanted my dad here, but it feels great to get the win though, so that made me happy. I played hard for my dad, Jesus, my teammates and my coach.”
Yount admitted that it will be sad to see Montgomery and the rest of the senior class depart Vance Charter over the summer, but he hopes to see them continue to work with the underclassmen on fine tuning minor issues so they can end their time with the program on a positive note.
“I’d like to see us share the ball a little bit more,” Yount said. “We need to find the open guys, share the field a little bit better and keep our spacing. We also need to hone in on our touches before we head to the state playoffs, because that’s going to be required in order to go deep in the playoffs this year.”
One last match remains for Vance Charter before the start of the NCHSAA 1A Playoffs, which will take place on Wednesday at 3 p.m. against Triangle Math and Science Academy at the Granville Athletic Park.
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