Wayne Country Day kept its foot on the gas and its effort was rewarded.

The Chargers scored two goals in the first five minutes of the second half to defeat Fayetteville Academy, 2-0 on Tuesday afternoon. It was tough sledding against a stout defense from the defending NCISAA 2A state runner-up, but Wayne Country Day head coach Steve Ellis’ squad found a way through.

“It’s tough to break down a five-man backline,” Ellis said. “We just needed to be patient and we knew that the goals would come eventually.”

Fayetteville Academy (1-3) soaked up the pressure in the first 40 minutes as the Chargers continued their waves of attack. Andrew Sherman and Anthony Valentine each had chances that forced saves late in the first half. 

The start of the second half is when the Chargers (3-1) got going. Riley Preble forced an Eagles’ own goal when he played a corner kick into the six-yard box that the goalkeeper dropped into the net.

Three minutes later the connection of Valentine and Sherman struck when the former played the latter through on goal. Sherman would dribble around the keeper and scored into a wide-open net to double the Chargers’ lead.

“We really took control after the second goal,” the senior forward said. “The first half was frustrating because of their defense, but we stayed together and continued to play our game.”

Fayetteville Academy looked to get back in the match when they scored with 13 minutes left. However, the goal was disallowed keeping it at 2-0. Connor Sasser had six saves including a big one at the near post to preserve the shutout.

“This is the type of game that can serve as a marker for us,” Ellis added. “We’ve got a lot of big matches coming up, so a win like this can give us confidence going forward.”

Wayne Country Day hosts Harrells Christian Thursday in their next matchup.