Lady Knights survive on Stanley PK to advance to state title match
Posted on May 12, 2021
School Sports
From staff reports
The Greenfield School girls soccer team will play for the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A championship for the first time since 2012 after the Lady Knights won a thriller, 4-3, against Southside Christian of Clayton in Tuesday’s semifinals at Forbes Field.
Greenfield, the No. 1 seed in the East Region, overcame a three-goal deficit with three goals from freshman Serenity McNair to tie the score. Sophomore Kat Stanley then connected on a penalty kick with just 48 seconds for the winning goal.
“What a game! I’m still trying to process everything that just happened,” Greenfield head coach Randol Mendoza said.
The Lady Knights (19-2), whose last appearance in an NCISAA final was also their seventh state title and all under former head coach Ben Forbes, whose name graces the field upon which Greenfield will vie for No. 8 on Saturday. The opponent will be Christ Covenant (8-1) from Winterville. The Spartans, seeded third in the East, stunned West No. 1 Sanford Grace Christian (13-3), also by a 4-3 margin, in Tuesday’s other semifinals match.
Greenfield, which hadn’t given up more than one goal in a match all season, was in trouble right from the start against the Warriors (12-4), who scored their first goal in the second minute and then another in the 17th minute.
“Southside Christian proved to be one of the steepest challenges we have faced this season,” Mendoza said. “They came at us fast and quick. It only took them 32 minutes to have us 0-3 and possibly facing an upset in the NCISAA 1-A state semifinals. We started the game flat and turnovers cost us three goals.”
Sophomore Autumn Dixon scored twice while eighth grader Annie Winterstein had the other Southside Christian goal. Senior Alyssa Dixon had two assists.
Down 3-0, the Lady Knights made use of the eight minutes left in the first half as Stanley and eighth-grade midfielder Avery Williams found McNair for a pair of quick-strike goals in the final two minutes.
“At halftime we talked about being patient and finding our forwards a bit more direct in an effort to tie the game,” Mendoza said. “We took care of the ball a bit more and managed to find spaces needed for Serenity to go through.”
The equalizer came in the 63rd minute when junior midfielder Juliette Suarez Robles fed McNair for her 34th goal of the season.
After giving more goals in the first 32 minutes than they had in the previous five games, the Lady Knights played lockdown defense the rest of the way. Southside finished with just eight shots to 32 by Greenfield.
“Our defensive line was tested all game with long balls directed towards the Dixon sisters who did good job of isolating us on 1-on-1s,” Mendoza said. “We weathered additional attacks by them for a second-half shutout by our defense.”
The payoff finally came in the final minute when Williams worked her way past two defenders before being tripped inside the box. However, she injured her ankle on the play and had to hobble off the field while Stanley, Greenfield’s second-leading scorer, stepped up to take the crucial penalty kick.
“We have been working on PKs for the last two weeks in preparation for that scenario during playoffs and it paid off,” Mendoza said.
Stanley hit the ball low and to the left of the Warriors goalkeeper for her 30th goal of the season. Forty-eight game seconds later, it was over and Greenfield was celebrating
Posted on May 12, 2021
School Sports
From staff reports
The Greenfield School girls soccer team will play for the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A championship for the first time since 2012 after the Lady Knights won a thriller, 4-3, against Southside Christian of Clayton in Tuesday’s semifinals at Forbes Field.
Greenfield, the No. 1 seed in the East Region, overcame a three-goal deficit with three goals from freshman Serenity McNair to tie the score. Sophomore Kat Stanley then connected on a penalty kick with just 48 seconds for the winning goal.
“What a game! I’m still trying to process everything that just happened,” Greenfield head coach Randol Mendoza said.
The Lady Knights (19-2), whose last appearance in an NCISAA final was also their seventh state title and all under former head coach Ben Forbes, whose name graces the field upon which Greenfield will vie for No. 8 on Saturday. The opponent will be Christ Covenant (8-1) from Winterville. The Spartans, seeded third in the East, stunned West No. 1 Sanford Grace Christian (13-3), also by a 4-3 margin, in Tuesday’s other semifinals match.
Greenfield, which hadn’t given up more than one goal in a match all season, was in trouble right from the start against the Warriors (12-4), who scored their first goal in the second minute and then another in the 17th minute.
“Southside Christian proved to be one of the steepest challenges we have faced this season,” Mendoza said. “They came at us fast and quick. It only took them 32 minutes to have us 0-3 and possibly facing an upset in the NCISAA 1-A state semifinals. We started the game flat and turnovers cost us three goals.”
Sophomore Autumn Dixon scored twice while eighth grader Annie Winterstein had the other Southside Christian goal. Senior Alyssa Dixon had two assists.
Down 3-0, the Lady Knights made use of the eight minutes left in the first half as Stanley and eighth-grade midfielder Avery Williams found McNair for a pair of quick-strike goals in the final two minutes.
“At halftime we talked about being patient and finding our forwards a bit more direct in an effort to tie the game,” Mendoza said. “We took care of the ball a bit more and managed to find spaces needed for Serenity to go through.”
The equalizer came in the 63rd minute when junior midfielder Juliette Suarez Robles fed McNair for her 34th goal of the season.
After giving more goals in the first 32 minutes than they had in the previous five games, the Lady Knights played lockdown defense the rest of the way. Southside finished with just eight shots to 32 by Greenfield.
“Our defensive line was tested all game with long balls directed towards the Dixon sisters who did good job of isolating us on 1-on-1s,” Mendoza said. “We weathered additional attacks by them for a second-half shutout by our defense.”
The payoff finally came in the final minute when Williams worked her way past two defenders before being tripped inside the box. However, she injured her ankle on the play and had to hobble off the field while Stanley, Greenfield’s second-leading scorer, stepped up to take the crucial penalty kick.
“We have been working on PKs for the last two weeks in preparation for that scenario during playoffs and it paid off,” Mendoza said.
Stanley hit the ball low and to the left of the Warriors goalkeeper for her 30th goal of the season. Forty-eight game seconds later, it was over and Greenfield was celebrating
