West Forsyth’s boys seemed to have lady luck firmly in their corner early on Friday night, but they ultimately decided their own fate.

After surviving prolonged first half pressure from Forsyth Central, the Wolverines finally hit their stride on offense with a hat trick of second half goals and secured a 3-1 victory in their home opener.

“It’s great to get our first win at home,” West coach Erik Moore said. “We knew Central was going to come out and be really aggressive … but I think we were the more aggressive team [tonight].”      

Keyed by striker Ryan Griswold, Central (2-2-1 overall, 2-0 Region 6-AAAA) created the vast majority of the scoring opportunities in the first half.

Wolverine goalkeeper Zach Liles was tested shortly after kickoff, standing tall to smother a close-range effort from Griswold, who raced past his marker and seemed certain to score. Chris Niemira came close again for the Bulldogs midway through the half, hammering a strike against the alert Liles’ chest from just a few yards out.

West (2-1) dodged another bullet after 31 minutes, when Central’s Tyler Hood found space on the right but clipped the crossbar after Liles narrowed the striker’s shooting angle.

“We got some lucky breaks in the first half,” Moore said. “They had a couple chances inside the six [yard line] that somehow didn’t go in.”

Unable to challenge Central’s defense for most of the first half, the Wolverines missed their own chance to break the stalemate near the half when Jake Newman beat keeper Corey Hitchings on the line but misdirected a header off of a free kick.  

West had better luck when supplying strikers with low ‘through balls’ from central midfield. One such move created the opening goal after 44 minutes, when Ben Lucas latched on to Kyle Billington’s pass and sent a high shot past Hitchings.

Central almost struck back on the ensuing kickoff. Niemira collected the ball, but with Liles beaten, he narrowly failed to find the net.

The Bulldogs paid for the miss in the 63rd minute, as the Wolverines went ahead 2-0. A long throw-in fell to Ranier Lopez, whose quick shot deflected off a defender en route to hitting the back of the net.

But in almost identical circumstances, Central got on the scoreboard and cut the lead in half. A throw-in again supplied the goal, with Niemira using his head to nudge the ball past Liles after 70 minutes.

The visitors’ momentum didn’t last long, though. Reversing roles from the opening goal, Lucas fed Billington with a pass that was hammered past the goalkeeper from 18 yards out, cushioning the Wolverines’ lead.

“We didn’t finish and capitalize on our opportunities, and they [West] did in the second half,” said Central coach Ross Walker. “They were better than we were tonight. We need to get better, and we’ve got a long way to go.”