Final update

Cardinal Gibbons 1, Shelby 0

Gibbons' leading scorer Lindsey Byrd scores the game's lone goal in the first 10 minutes of the second half on a shot from 25 yards out.

Shelby played a hard, 80 minutes of soccer on a warm afternoon, but couldn't get in a consistent offensive rhythm with Gibbons controlling a lot of the possession. The Lions' only shot of the second half came on a header by Patience Smith, which went over the goal, off a free kick by Megan Potter.

Final unofficial stats
Shots - Gibbons 14, Shelby 2
Saves - Gibbons Veronica Lewis 1, Shelby Claire Carter 8
Corner kicks - Gibbons 17, Shelby 0
Offsides - Gibbons 0, Shelby 1
Fouls - Gibbons 5, Shelby 3

Shelby vs. Cardinal Gibbons halftime update

No luck with the wireless connection down closer to the field, so I'm only going to be able to update at halftime and after the game.

Score is tied 0-0 at the half. Cardinal Gibbons owns a 7-1 edge in shots and had a handful of near misses around the goal. Shelby goalie Claire Carter came up with several clutch saves ... the Lady Crusaders closest chance came with nearly 5 minutes left in the half when Lauren McAnallen's left-footed shot hit the cross bar and bounced out of play.

Shelby hasn't been able to get much going up front as Gibbons has done a solid job of possessing and winning loose balls.

Morgan McDaniel had the Lions' lone shot on goal around the 14-minute mark.

Live from Cary - Shelby vs. Cardinal Gibbons

12:15 p.m. - Star photogrpaher Jeff Melton and I are set up to update here at SAS Stadium on a warm, beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. and the teams are starting to warm up now. I'll do my best to keep this updated every 15 minutes or so (or after every goal).

2A Soccer updates

If all goes according to plan, I will be updating my blog from Cary as Shelby takes on Cardinal Gibbons for the 2A girls' soccer championship.

Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Koka Booth Field at the SAS Soccer Park.

Steve Nash

Check out Steve Nash showing off his soccer skills ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehvrkKwCTqA

Baseball playoff preview

The advantages of playing at home in the playoffs are arguably greater in baseball than any other sport.
Outfielders have judged fly balls in those same lights all year, infielders have a greater knowledge of how a ground ball might bounce and pitchers are more comfortable on a familiar mound.

Not to mention, having the last at bat isn’t so bad either.
Tonight, three baseball teams in Cleveland County — Crest, Shelby and Burns — will either continue their seasons, or see them come to an end, as the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs begin at their respective home fields.
The Chargers (15-7) host South Mecklenburg (10-15), a wild-card team from the Southwestern 4A. Crest coach Steven Hodge believes South’s sub-.500 record is misleading.

“I feel like they play in one of the toughest conferences in the state. They were 20-7 last year, and they have 11 seniors back. We discussed with our team the fact that they’ve got a good program.
“If you lose, you’re done. That’s the mentality we take. If you don’t show up, you get sent home.”

Shelby’s opponent, West Caldwell (10-13), also doesn’t possess a strong record. West finished 6-10 in the Catawba Valley 2A/3A, but landed a spot in the playoffs due to the expanded, 64-team field.
Golden Lions’ coach Tommy Wease believes his team is focused, regardless of their opponent.

“We don’t know a lot about West Caldwell, but everyone goes into the playoffs 0-0,” said Wease, whose team finished 13-10 overall. “We’ve had a great week of practice ... I think the loss to East on Monday did more for us than anything has all year. We’re excited about playing at home.”

Burns (11-12) has the toughest draw of the three as Chris Emery’s Bulldogs host Fred T. Foard (17-5). Foard has a pair of highly touted pitchers — lefty Aaron King and righty Trent Rothlin. Rothlin is committed to Clemson, while King is headed to Surry Community College and possibly could be drafted.

“We know they are a good team, but we’re happy to have a home game. We hope our fans will come out and get behind the team,” Emery said. “We feel like we’ve seen pretty good pitching all year. Our kids feel like they’ve been challenged.”
All three games start at 7 p.m.

Note: Fans attending the game at Shelby should enter the baseball parking area via the front of the school and go by the north end of the football stadium. The road past the fieldhouse (south end of stadium) will be closed to traffic.