Or a golfer with the lead whose errant shot off the 18th tee slices into the trees and kicks back into the middle of the fairway.

And “relief” is exactly the word Rice used to describe his goal that broke a 1-1 with three minutes to play in a tightly-played match against Grace Christian.

On a sun-splashed afternoon with more beach chairs and umbrellas lining the sideline than on the deserted North Carolina beaches as Hurricane Irene approached the coast, Rice said he mishit the ball. His first reaction was to mentally kick himself as he expected the ball to bound wide right of the net.

But the ball hit something in the turf, twisted to the left and then hit the inside of the post and rolled into the net for a 2-1 win in Thursday’s non-conference match at Grace Christian’s field.

Rice could have come up with a tall tale that his magic goal was a twist of a “Bend-It-Like- Beckham,” shot, but he was honest about the game-winner that gave the Knights a 3-1 overall record.

“I got a little bit lucky,” he said. “I thought it was going wide, but it took a bounce off the field. I felt relief more than anything. I had so many shots that didn’t go in, it was good to get the last one in.”

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

The sight of the ball rolling into the net was one of those demoralizing scenes that left Grace Christian’s players collapsing to their knees in disbelief.

“It was a very good match,” Cary Christian coach Brian Twidt said. “They’ve got a good team and they came ready to play and to defend their field. They were out-hustling us in the first half. We talked about stepping up more in the second half.”

Grace Christian (0-2) scored first with a goal at the 15-minute mark by senior Pearson Wynands.

The 1-0 lead stood up at halftime as Grace Christian goalkeeper Steven Dalgetty stopped first-half shots on a free kick and a penalty kick.

When the first half whistle blew, Grace Christian coach Roman Pibl waved his team to the sideline, saying, “Get some water – and thank your goalie.”

Cary Christian tied the score just two minutes into the second half on a goal by sophomore Jeremy Twidt with an assist by Rice.

Dalgetty and Cary Christian goalkeeper Nick Massey both made multiple diving second-half saves as the game remained deadlocked. Massey also got two assists from his defenders.

Twice, Massey blocked shots and Grace Christian had a chance to score on the ricochet, but Anthony Saad blocked one second shot and Nathan Wiggins blocked another second shot, this time with five minutes to play.

Twidt, whose Knights’ graduated seven seniors, says his new lineup has good balance and is coming together.

“There were a few rough spots, but definitely you can see we’re learning,” Twidt said. “We’re playing well off each other. We made some good runs and kept our heads in the game. We’re making some progress.”