Lady Cyclones blank Greenfield on Senior Night
By Tom Ham
Senior Staff Writer
Senior Night for the girls soccer team at Community Christian School was not the best place for the Greenfield School team to be Tuesday night.
Community Christian, ranked No. 5 among North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A teams by Eurosport, ended its regular season and honored the senior quartet of Hailey Dail, Jordan London, Eulyssa Giddings and Caitlyn Beamon (injured) with a dominating 6-0 victory against the Lady Knights, losers to CCS by a lopsided score for the second straight year.
The high-scoring Dail and physical midfielder London combined for four goals and two assists as the Lady Cyclones, 1-A Carolina Christian Conference champions, boosted their record to 14-2. Greenfield, contending for the 1-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference crown, dipped to 4-9-1.
CCS cranked a season-high 51 shots and sophomore goalkeeper Emily Boyette and her defensive cast of London, Giddings, sophomore Whitney Bissette, sophomore Erica Vanden Brink and seventh-grader Kaitlyn Manning were not required to defend a Greenfield shot. In contrast, freshman Greenfield keeper Sumer Hassan, hailed by head coach Randol Mendoza as the team’s unsung hero, registered 30-plus saves,
London understandably reasoned the Lady Cyclones should have scored more goals, while Giddings commented: “It was a very good game and we enjoyed ourselves. We played with heart, hustle and skill.”
Giddings admitted the CCS players may have been affected physically by Monday night’s draining 6-3 win against Halifax Academy and she was well aware CCS easily defeated Greenfield last season.
“We don’t underestimate any team,” she emphasized. “We play our game and give it everything we have.”
Dail, who, along with London, recently signed with Barton College, upped her senior-season goal count to 36 with a hat trick (three goals). Dail opened the scoring in unassisted fashion in the eighth minute with a shot that scooted underneath Hassan’s reach. Two minutes later, Dail finished an assist from London.
A pair of goals from sophomore Morgan Lane staked the Lady Cyclones to a 4-0 halftime margin. Dail and sophomore Anna Jackson recorded the assists.
The second half saw the Lady Knights station defenders Samantha Wainwright, a junior; senior Kaitlyn Newman, sophomore Emma Brown and seventh-grader Margaret Covington in front of the goal. The strategy denied CCS the first 20 minutes.
“We were trying not to be mercy-ruled,” Mendoza matter-of-factly said. “We were clearing balls left and right. It was massive for us to only give up two goals the second half.”
Dail netted the first one on an assist from sophomore Olivia Bullard and London’s blast off a free kick concluded the assault.
“We played OK,” assessed CCS head coach Rhine Sharp, who is retiring after this season. “We may have had a little letdown from last night. We passed OK, but we didn’t finish well.”
Of Greenfield’s defensive strategy the second half, Sharp responded: “Each coach does what he needs to do. Randal knows his personnel. It can be effective at times. We were going after goals.”
The cross-city rivals will be CPIC members next season.
Of his team’s competitive status, Mendoza reasoned: “It’s hard to say; it’s a long-term process. That’s why I’m here. We don’t have the players we need in the 10th, 11th and 12th grades.
“(Community Christian) is pretty good. They will give any team a run for their money. I expect big things from them in the state playoffs. Rhine has got them playing well.”
The rivalry, as far as Giddings is concerned, exists.
“Greenfield has always been a rival. But we still love them at the same time,” she remarked with a huge smile.”
By Tom Ham
Senior Staff Writer
Senior Night for the girls soccer team at Community Christian School was not the best place for the Greenfield School team to be Tuesday night.
Community Christian, ranked No. 5 among North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A teams by Eurosport, ended its regular season and honored the senior quartet of Hailey Dail, Jordan London, Eulyssa Giddings and Caitlyn Beamon (injured) with a dominating 6-0 victory against the Lady Knights, losers to CCS by a lopsided score for the second straight year.
The high-scoring Dail and physical midfielder London combined for four goals and two assists as the Lady Cyclones, 1-A Carolina Christian Conference champions, boosted their record to 14-2. Greenfield, contending for the 1-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference crown, dipped to 4-9-1.
CCS cranked a season-high 51 shots and sophomore goalkeeper Emily Boyette and her defensive cast of London, Giddings, sophomore Whitney Bissette, sophomore Erica Vanden Brink and seventh-grader Kaitlyn Manning were not required to defend a Greenfield shot. In contrast, freshman Greenfield keeper Sumer Hassan, hailed by head coach Randol Mendoza as the team’s unsung hero, registered 30-plus saves,
London understandably reasoned the Lady Cyclones should have scored more goals, while Giddings commented: “It was a very good game and we enjoyed ourselves. We played with heart, hustle and skill.”
Giddings admitted the CCS players may have been affected physically by Monday night’s draining 6-3 win against Halifax Academy and she was well aware CCS easily defeated Greenfield last season.
“We don’t underestimate any team,” she emphasized. “We play our game and give it everything we have.”
Dail, who, along with London, recently signed with Barton College, upped her senior-season goal count to 36 with a hat trick (three goals). Dail opened the scoring in unassisted fashion in the eighth minute with a shot that scooted underneath Hassan’s reach. Two minutes later, Dail finished an assist from London.
A pair of goals from sophomore Morgan Lane staked the Lady Cyclones to a 4-0 halftime margin. Dail and sophomore Anna Jackson recorded the assists.
The second half saw the Lady Knights station defenders Samantha Wainwright, a junior; senior Kaitlyn Newman, sophomore Emma Brown and seventh-grader Margaret Covington in front of the goal. The strategy denied CCS the first 20 minutes.
“We were trying not to be mercy-ruled,” Mendoza matter-of-factly said. “We were clearing balls left and right. It was massive for us to only give up two goals the second half.”
Dail netted the first one on an assist from sophomore Olivia Bullard and London’s blast off a free kick concluded the assault.
“We played OK,” assessed CCS head coach Rhine Sharp, who is retiring after this season. “We may have had a little letdown from last night. We passed OK, but we didn’t finish well.”
Of Greenfield’s defensive strategy the second half, Sharp responded: “Each coach does what he needs to do. Randal knows his personnel. It can be effective at times. We were going after goals.”
The cross-city rivals will be CPIC members next season.
Of his team’s competitive status, Mendoza reasoned: “It’s hard to say; it’s a long-term process. That’s why I’m here. We don’t have the players we need in the 10th, 11th and 12th grades.
“(Community Christian) is pretty good. They will give any team a run for their money. I expect big things from them in the state playoffs. Rhine has got them playing well.”
The rivalry, as far as Giddings is concerned, exists.
“Greenfield has always been a rival. But we still love them at the same time,” she remarked with a huge smile.”
