PITTSBORO – The Northwood Charger soccer team began its 2004 Mid-State 2A Conference season with a bang on Monday night, routing Southern Guilford 4-1.

The Chargers started slowly and the Storm drew first blood when Quinton Hurdle took a pass over the top and reached the net from eight yards out.

"We started slow and kept the ball too much in the air the first half, but we settled down in the second half, started passing to feet, cooperating on defense and playing smarter," said NW coach Julie Mardis.

The goal by Hurdle seemed to be a wake up call for Northwood as Southern Guilford managed just four more shots on goal the rest of the half, all of which were stopped by goalkeeper Chris Poe.

While Poe and the Charger defense was putting the clamps down, the Northwood offense began to click and the locals evened the score with six minutes left in the first half when Eleazar Martinez nailed a 15-yarder off a pass from Tony Strowd.

In the second half, the potent Charger offense erupted, keyed by an Aaron Robinson game-winner just four minutes into action which gave NW a 2-1 advantage. Robinson lifted a shot over Storm goalie David Maddox after a nice assist from Dylan Stroupe.

Javier Espinoza scored 14 minutes later off the first career high school assist from J.J. Morrow before Rodrigo Martinez capped the 3-1 Northwood win with a goal in the last minute off the game off a throw in from Julian Sikes.

Much has been written and even more has been said about 9/11 and the third year anniversary of the terrorists attacks that changed American forever.

I am not going to recount where I was and what I was doing that day, but I am going to express a little way that I have been affected by it.

When I first started sports writing, one of the small aspects of my job that I enjoyed was hearing the national anthem.

Whether it was performed at Keenan Stadium in Chapel Hill or Chatham Central, I would take a moment to reflect on my life and give thanks that I was working my way out of the furniture world where so many of my friends still languish.

After that day, however, the anthem took on even more importance to me.

I began thinking of my grandfather and the sacrifices his generation made during World War II, and my uncle, who was wounded in Vietnam, costing him a chance at a career in basketball.

Friday night at Northwood, there was a moment of silence before the game where many people took that time to reflect on the world we live in today.

There was also a feeling that was more distant than the previous two years.

ROBBINS – Jordan-Matthews shook off a sluggish start here on Monday night to rally and down the North Moore Mustangs 3-0 in Yadkin Valley 1A soccer action.

The Jets, ranked No. 3 in the state in the 1A soccer polls, improve to 3-1 in league play with the win and to 4-2-2 overall.

"In the first half, it was like we were playing in a fog," said J-M coach Paul Cuadros. "We weren’t going to the ball and we were making mistakes."

The second half was completely opposite, however, as J-M began dominating play and the Mustang defense could not withstand the pressure.

Luis Lopez tallied the first goal by the Jets before Luis Arellano tacked on a second goal to put Jordan-Matthews in front 2-0.

Andrew Van Schooten helped put the game away for the Jets when he pushed up into the attacking third of the field and passed the ball off to Lopez who beat two Mustangs players and reached the net.

more- See Thursday, September 16 paper: Vol 84, No. 42