Greenfield winning streak halted by DASH, 1-0
By Jimmy Lewis jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter: @JimmyLewisWT
The nine-game surge of victories for the Greenfield School varsity girls soccer team is no more.
But with the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A postseason just around the corner for the Lady Knights, a 1-0 loss Friday night to DASH United on Forbes Field was no cause to descend into full-blown panic.
“We can’t walk away with our heads down in this game,” Greenfield head coach Randol Mendoza said. “We definitely saw a lot of growth playing an opponent like DASH United. We wanted the win, we wanted the three points or just simply winning that game being that we’re not in a points system. We didn’t quite get it, but I’d rather play really good opponents like we have in tonight’s game because it will go a long way at the end of the postseason.
Greenfield, which clinched the 1-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference regular-season title with its win over Wayne Country Day on Wednesday, lost for just the second time in 15 matches. DASH, which absorbed its first loss Thursday night against Hunt in another 1-0 affair, improved to 15-1. After missing out on postseason play due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, United finds themselves in position to continue a string of North Carolinians for Home Education Athletic Commission state championships, of which DASH has claimed the last four.
The Lady Knights found it difficult to get numbers forward with any consistency, as DASH maintained most of the possession and proved effective flipping the field and getting Greenfield’s defense to chase. DASH, which outshot Greenfield by a 19-3 margin, picked up the lone goal of the match off a counterattack once Amery Harrison played a through ball to Michaela Kowalski in the 13th minute. Kowalski completed the run and sent it by Greenfield sophomore keeper Jeallen Holland for the lone tally.
Fifteen of DASH’s shots ended up on frame with Holland making 13 saves. Nine corner kicks were taken by United.
While Holland remained active on the back line, Greenfield’s marking on defense was not of poor quality.
“The substitutions were minimum,” Mendoza said. “We didn’t rotate as heavily as we usually do, but I think the fitness levels are peaking at the right time of the season. I didn’t want the team to be really fit early at the beginning of the year. I wanted us to start hitting our peak three quarters and going into the last quarter of the season. And it proved it playing an 80-minute game against an opponent with the quality of DASH.”
Greenfield didn’t get its first shot until the 43rd minute. Eighth grader Darcy Dean made a run into the DASH defensive third, but her shot up the end line hit the outer portion of the side panel. Opportunities off set pieces also presented themselves in the second half for the Lady Knights, but free kicks off the foot of sophomore Kat Stanley could not find an equalizer.
DASH keeper Natalie Akins wasn’t pressed into a save of any kind until Stanley struck a free kick with 25:40 to play.
Two more free kicks in the 64th and 65th off Stanley’s foot also failed to find a meaningful touch on the end, and with DASH regaining its possession authority, time expired without an abundance of drama.
“We anticipated being able to break them down from a tactical standpoint,” DASH head coach Lynn Adams said. “We just feel like our soccer, our tactical side of our game, is really good. We thought we could break them down tactically and do the right things to be able to score. We got plenty of opportunities, it just seems like we couldn’t buy one.”
As for Stanley, she stayed busy in the defensive third when not taking free kicks. When the final whistle sounded, Stanley could be spotted getting ice applied to and wrapped around a sore lower back.
“I’d say in just about any game, you do get tired as it kind of wears on,” Stanley said. “But I don’t think we got any more tired than we did in any other game.”
Greenfield remains out of conference Monday to face Fayetteville Academy.
.
By Jimmy Lewis jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter: @JimmyLewisWT
The nine-game surge of victories for the Greenfield School varsity girls soccer team is no more.
But with the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A postseason just around the corner for the Lady Knights, a 1-0 loss Friday night to DASH United on Forbes Field was no cause to descend into full-blown panic.
“We can’t walk away with our heads down in this game,” Greenfield head coach Randol Mendoza said. “We definitely saw a lot of growth playing an opponent like DASH United. We wanted the win, we wanted the three points or just simply winning that game being that we’re not in a points system. We didn’t quite get it, but I’d rather play really good opponents like we have in tonight’s game because it will go a long way at the end of the postseason.
Greenfield, which clinched the 1-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference regular-season title with its win over Wayne Country Day on Wednesday, lost for just the second time in 15 matches. DASH, which absorbed its first loss Thursday night against Hunt in another 1-0 affair, improved to 15-1. After missing out on postseason play due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, United finds themselves in position to continue a string of North Carolinians for Home Education Athletic Commission state championships, of which DASH has claimed the last four.
The Lady Knights found it difficult to get numbers forward with any consistency, as DASH maintained most of the possession and proved effective flipping the field and getting Greenfield’s defense to chase. DASH, which outshot Greenfield by a 19-3 margin, picked up the lone goal of the match off a counterattack once Amery Harrison played a through ball to Michaela Kowalski in the 13th minute. Kowalski completed the run and sent it by Greenfield sophomore keeper Jeallen Holland for the lone tally.
Fifteen of DASH’s shots ended up on frame with Holland making 13 saves. Nine corner kicks were taken by United.
While Holland remained active on the back line, Greenfield’s marking on defense was not of poor quality.
“The substitutions were minimum,” Mendoza said. “We didn’t rotate as heavily as we usually do, but I think the fitness levels are peaking at the right time of the season. I didn’t want the team to be really fit early at the beginning of the year. I wanted us to start hitting our peak three quarters and going into the last quarter of the season. And it proved it playing an 80-minute game against an opponent with the quality of DASH.”
Greenfield didn’t get its first shot until the 43rd minute. Eighth grader Darcy Dean made a run into the DASH defensive third, but her shot up the end line hit the outer portion of the side panel. Opportunities off set pieces also presented themselves in the second half for the Lady Knights, but free kicks off the foot of sophomore Kat Stanley could not find an equalizer.
DASH keeper Natalie Akins wasn’t pressed into a save of any kind until Stanley struck a free kick with 25:40 to play.
Two more free kicks in the 64th and 65th off Stanley’s foot also failed to find a meaningful touch on the end, and with DASH regaining its possession authority, time expired without an abundance of drama.
“We anticipated being able to break them down from a tactical standpoint,” DASH head coach Lynn Adams said. “We just feel like our soccer, our tactical side of our game, is really good. We thought we could break them down tactically and do the right things to be able to score. We got plenty of opportunities, it just seems like we couldn’t buy one.”
As for Stanley, she stayed busy in the defensive third when not taking free kicks. When the final whistle sounded, Stanley could be spotted getting ice applied to and wrapped around a sore lower back.
“I’d say in just about any game, you do get tired as it kind of wears on,” Stanley said. “But I don’t think we got any more tired than we did in any other game.”
Greenfield remains out of conference Monday to face Fayetteville Academy.
.
