Eagles fly past WHS
From staff reports

KERNERSVILLE — Watauga had lost to East Forsyth by just one goal earlier in the season. Yet Watauga coach Doug Kidd felt his team played an even better game in their 5-1 loss Friday night to the Eagles in the second round of the state 4-A playoffs.

Kidd said East Forsyth, ranked No. 3 in the 4-A, took advantage of some defensive breakdowns, which helped the Eagles build on a 2-1 halftime lead. But Kidd also liked the way Watauga (14-6-2) kept up offensive pressure on East Forsyth (19-1-1), which reached the third round of the playoffs with its win.

“We lost to a good team,” Kidd said. “We were playing pretty well. Our defense had some mistakes and they capitalized, but we were causing them problems and getting some scoring chances, so I felt good about that.”

Kendall Conner, a sophomore, scored Watauga’s only goal, which was set up by a Macy Johnson assist.

Conner’s goal gave Watauga a 1-1 tie with 20 minutes left in the first half.

But East Forsyth scored three goals in the second half to pull away from the Pioneers, who had allowed just one goal in their last 10 games. The Pioneers, had won five out of their last six games before Friday.

Watauga’s goal was the first East Forsyth allowed in seven games. The Eagles outshot Watauga 14-7.

“They put away some chances pretty quick,” Kidd said. “They had a long throw-in that caused some problems for us. We weren’t able to clear them out.”