On a night where the Warren County High School soccer team celebrated four seniors, it was two freshmen who helped the Pioneers clinch a high seed in next week’s District 6-AAA tournament.
Abraham Pumarino scored twice in the second half and Jesus DeSantiago scored with eight minutes left to help Warren County down Rhea County 3-2 at home Thursday night.
Warren County (8-8) started the night celebrating seniors Johnny Smith, Steven Weber, Cristian Mendez and Cristian Ochoa. All four made their presence felt defensively Thursday night, but it was the younger players who helped carry the offense.
The Pioneers went into halftime trailing 1-0 after Rhea County netted an early goal, but Pumarino quickly evened the score. The freshman made a run through the heart of Eagle defense while Cole Millard operated on the outside. Millard spotted Pumarino streaking toward the goal and lofted a pass that hit his teammate in stride.
Pumarino quickly gathered himself and sailed a shot into the upper-right corner of the goal to tie the game with 30 minutes to go.
Pumarino would strike again in the next 10 minutes on a runaway opportunity that pitted the freshman one-on-one against the Rhea County keeper. Pumarino’s aim was true for the second time to give the Pioneers a 2-1 advantage.
The slim lead held up until the final eight minutes when Ethan Bandy and DeSantiago combined to give the home team just enough cushion to win.
Bandy took a free kick near midfield after a foul and set his sights on the goal. The junior, who had a hat trick last Monday when Warren County beat Cascade 4-1, nearly put the ball in on his own when his shot floated to the goal and struck the top post.
The ball ricocheted straight down, leading to a free-for-all in front of the goal. DeSantiago was the quickest to the ball and popped it in to give the Pioneers a 3-1 lead.
Rhea County made things interesting by scoring on a long free kick of its own with six minutes to play, but the Pioneer defense stood strong down the stretch to earn the victory.
With the win, Warren County clinched the No. 2 seed in the district tournament. The Pioneers, who finished 3-2 in district play, will play host to a semifinal game Tuesday, May 6 against either White County or Cumberland County.
The District 6-AAA finals, which will be held at the highest seed’s home field, are set to be played Thursday, May 8.