Jones Senior, Spring Creek, Aycock advance with one-goal playoff wins

Three Neuse News Sports-area teams kept their seasons alive Thursday, and none had a goal to spare.

Jones Senior, Spring Creek and C.B. Aycock each won by one goal in the second round of the NCHSAA boys soccer playoffs. Their victories left three local teams preparing for Monday’s third round, while South Lenoir, Goldsboro, Greene Central, North Lenoir and Eastern Wayne saw their seasons end.

Spring Creek won the night’s only matchup between two Neuse News Sports-area teams, edging South Lenoir 2-1. Jones Senior shut out Bear Grass Charter 1-0, and Aycock defeated Southern Nash 3-2.

Jones Senior 1, Bear Grass Charter 0

Angel Salinas scored the only goal as eighth-seeded Jones Senior advanced in the 1A East playoffs.

The teams were scoreless at halftime before Salinas broke through in the second half. Bear Grass goalkeeper Will Saunders was credited with 28 saves, keeping the ninth-seeded Bears within reach throughout the match. Jesstin Crump made one save for Jones in the shutout.

The Trojans improved to 14-8-1, while Bear Grass finished 7-11-1. Jones has won the teams’ three most recent reported meetings, following victories in 2023 and 2024.

Jones travels to Falls Lake Academy on Monday, Nov. 9, for the third round.

Spring Creek 2, South Lenoir 1

Sixth-seeded Spring Creek scored the only goal of the second half to end South Lenoir’s breakthrough season in the 3A East playoffs.

The teams entered halftime tied 1-1. Yeshua Perez-Gonzalez scored for the 11th-seeded Blue Devils, and Benjamin Gonzalez made nine saves while facing 11 shots on goal.

Spring Creek improved to 15-7-1. South Lenoir finished 14-9-1.

The result marked a much tighter contest than the teams’ previous two meetings. Spring Creek won 6-1 during the regular season and eliminated South Lenoir 4-0 in last year’s opening round.

This time, the Blue Devils arrived with a postseason victory already secured. Monday’s win over Northeastern was the first playoff victory in program history and the 50th career coaching win for Jody Turner.

Spring Creek visits NCSSM-Durham at 6 p.m. Monday.

C.B. Aycock 3, Southern Nash 2

Fourth-seeded Aycock won the deciding meeting of its season series with Southern Nash, advancing in the 5A East playoffs.

The Golden Falcons improved to 13-6-3 with the one-goal victory. The 13th-seeded Firebirds finished 11-12.

The conference opponents split their regular-season meetings. Southern Nash won 1-0 on Sept. 16, and Aycock answered with a 3-0 victory Oct. 12. Thursday also marked the second consecutive season in which the Golden Falcons eliminated the Firebirds from the playoffs.

Aycock hosts Seaforth on Monday in the third round.

NCSSM-Durham 8, Goldsboro 1

Third-seeded NCSSM-Durham extended its winning streak to 11 games and ended Goldsboro’s season in the 3A East second round.

The Unicorns improved to 18-3-1, while the 14th-seeded Cougars finished 10-12. Goldsboro had advanced with a first-round victory over Beddingfield.

NCSSM’s victory sets up another matchup against a Wayne County opponent when Spring Creek visits Monday.

Wallace-Rose Hill 4, Greene Central 0

Defending 3A champion Wallace-Rose Hill ended Greene Central’s postseason run for the second consecutive year.

The second-seeded Bulldogs improved to 19-5-1 with the shutout. Greene Central, the No. 15 seed, finished 10-10-2. Wallace-Rose Hill will host West Bladen in Monday’s third round.

The Rams reached the second round after recovering from a 1-8-1 start. Their late-season turnaround included Monday’s 3-2 playoff victory over Louisburg.

Wallace-Rose Hill had beaten Greene Central 2-1 in August and eliminated the Rams 2-0 in last year’s quarterfinals on its way to the state championship.

Carrboro 3, North Lenoir 0

Third-seeded Carrboro built a 2-0 halftime lead and added a second-half goal to eliminate North Lenoir from the 4A East playoffs.

The 14th-seeded Hawks finished 8-9-5. Carrboro improved to 15-5-2 and advanced to face Carver.

North Lenoir reached the second round with a 1-0 victory over Bunn. Brian Gomez scored that match’s only goal, with Jose Gonzalez providing the assist. The Hawks could not produce another breakthrough against Carrboro.

Southwestern Randolph 7, Eastern Wayne 2

Gio Hernandez and Cristobal Lopez scored twice apiece as defending state champion Southwestern Randolph ended Eastern Wayne’s season in the 4A East playoffs.

Griffin Hall, Alejandro Jimenez and Johan Perez-Dominguez added one goal each for the seventh-seeded Cougars. Hall and Jimenez each supplied two assists, while Lopez and Holt Tyl had one apiece.

Southwestern Randolph goalkeepers Troy Adkins and Hayden Morrow were credited with five saves and one save, respectively.

The Cougars led 4-1 at halftime and improved to 13-8-1. Tenth-seeded Eastern Wayne finished 12-6-1 after opening the playoffs with a 7-0 victory over Southwest Edgecombe.

The loss closed a season of substantial progress for coach Donta Lewis’ Warriors. Eastern Wayne more than doubled its five victories from 2025 and added a home playoff win to its turnaround.