Greenfield flexes offense in win over Cyclones
By Jack Frederick jfrederick@wilsontimes.com | 265-7824 | Twitter: @_jackfrederick
If winning the possession as much as possible was the goal for head coach Eric Nguyen’s Greenfield girls soccer team on Monday night, the Lady Knights lived up to expectations in a 6-0 win that showcased a dangerous scoring attack at Community Christian on Tuesday evening.
Leading by that approach and pressing all game, the visitors kept the ball on the opposite side of the field most of the time, scoring five quick goals to put away the host Lady Cyclones in the first half.
“We knew our offense was going to be explosive at the beginning of the year and they came out strong in the first half and put some away really quick,” Nguyen said.
In just the ninth minute, and the first shot of the game, eighth grade forward Serentiy McNair broke through, escaping past the defense and running down a pass ahead by Kat Stanley to finish off a goal into the left corner.
The goal that put the team ahead early was emblematic of the offensive energy that was key to putting it so far ahead in the end.
“I thought we had a lot of great energy,” Stanley said. “We played great as a team and I think that’s the key to our success.”
Two minutes later, Stanley earned a penalty kick, which she fired at the ankles of goalkeeper Makayla Webb and ricocheted into the back of the net. By the end of the first half, Stanley had scored three goals, including a long shot from more than 30 yards out that was assisted by Kaelyn Wall. She scored another on a free kick that came after a handball in the box.
But Stanley said her hat trick wasn’t about her.
“It took more than just me to score those goals,” Stanley said. “It was a team effort.”
Avery Williams added another goal midway through the half to advance the lead out to five goals. The final 18 minutes of the first half proved scoreless, as did the first 10 minutes of the second half.
But a team effort offensively had challenged the Lady Cyclones.
Community Christian head coach Brian McGlaughon assessed his defense could have cut off some of those offensive opportunities by Greenfield, had his team met the scorers at the point of attack and pushed back to the other side of the field instead of staying back.
“We sat in the backfield too long,” McGlaughon said. “We can’t sit back there and pack the backfield in and not push up. Of course you’re going to have shots if you’re just giving it back to them.”
In the 50th minute, Williams crossed a pass diagonally through the left side of the box to seventh grader Gaby Beddingfield. Beddingfield redirected it promptly into the right corner for the final goal.
But the game was not over. The rest of the way, the Lady Cyclones fought for a goal that had evaded them all game. Webb saved two more goal attempts from Greenfield, while the offense devoted itself to a final push to get on the scoreboard that still came up empty.
Though a goal never came, Community Christian played a much-improved second half, something it set out to do after giving up five goals in the first half.
“We just talked about picking up our head and doing what we should do — doing better,” McGlaughon said. “They practice hard and they deserve a better response than five goals.”
Community Christian freshman forward Bobiann Lee agreed with her coach’s assessment. Tuesday was the only scheduled meeting between the two schools, but next time, Lee said, her team will be ready.
“We definitely could have played harder and pushed ourselves a little bit more,” Lee said. “We came into the game with our heads down a little bit because Greenfield is a really good school and when we’ve played them, we haven’t really done our best.”
By Jack Frederick jfrederick@wilsontimes.com | 265-7824 | Twitter: @_jackfrederick
If winning the possession as much as possible was the goal for head coach Eric Nguyen’s Greenfield girls soccer team on Monday night, the Lady Knights lived up to expectations in a 6-0 win that showcased a dangerous scoring attack at Community Christian on Tuesday evening.
Leading by that approach and pressing all game, the visitors kept the ball on the opposite side of the field most of the time, scoring five quick goals to put away the host Lady Cyclones in the first half.
“We knew our offense was going to be explosive at the beginning of the year and they came out strong in the first half and put some away really quick,” Nguyen said.
In just the ninth minute, and the first shot of the game, eighth grade forward Serentiy McNair broke through, escaping past the defense and running down a pass ahead by Kat Stanley to finish off a goal into the left corner.
The goal that put the team ahead early was emblematic of the offensive energy that was key to putting it so far ahead in the end.
“I thought we had a lot of great energy,” Stanley said. “We played great as a team and I think that’s the key to our success.”
Two minutes later, Stanley earned a penalty kick, which she fired at the ankles of goalkeeper Makayla Webb and ricocheted into the back of the net. By the end of the first half, Stanley had scored three goals, including a long shot from more than 30 yards out that was assisted by Kaelyn Wall. She scored another on a free kick that came after a handball in the box.
But Stanley said her hat trick wasn’t about her.
“It took more than just me to score those goals,” Stanley said. “It was a team effort.”
Avery Williams added another goal midway through the half to advance the lead out to five goals. The final 18 minutes of the first half proved scoreless, as did the first 10 minutes of the second half.
But a team effort offensively had challenged the Lady Cyclones.
Community Christian head coach Brian McGlaughon assessed his defense could have cut off some of those offensive opportunities by Greenfield, had his team met the scorers at the point of attack and pushed back to the other side of the field instead of staying back.
“We sat in the backfield too long,” McGlaughon said. “We can’t sit back there and pack the backfield in and not push up. Of course you’re going to have shots if you’re just giving it back to them.”
In the 50th minute, Williams crossed a pass diagonally through the left side of the box to seventh grader Gaby Beddingfield. Beddingfield redirected it promptly into the right corner for the final goal.
But the game was not over. The rest of the way, the Lady Cyclones fought for a goal that had evaded them all game. Webb saved two more goal attempts from Greenfield, while the offense devoted itself to a final push to get on the scoreboard that still came up empty.
Though a goal never came, Community Christian played a much-improved second half, something it set out to do after giving up five goals in the first half.
“We just talked about picking up our head and doing what we should do — doing better,” McGlaughon said. “They practice hard and they deserve a better response than five goals.”
Community Christian freshman forward Bobiann Lee agreed with her coach’s assessment. Tuesday was the only scheduled meeting between the two schools, but next time, Lee said, her team will be ready.
“We definitely could have played harder and pushed ourselves a little bit more,” Lee said. “We came into the game with our heads down a little bit because Greenfield is a really good school and when we’ve played them, we haven’t really done our best.”
