Streak on, streak off
By Jimmy Lewis jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter: @JimmyLewisWT
A healthy Greenfield School varsity boys soccer team remains a dangerous outfit when the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A playoffs roll around.
With that thought in mind, the Knights, defending 1-A state champions, extended their own winning streak to six games while halting a 15-game unbeaten streak for archrival Wayne Country Day on a crisp Homecoming fall night on Forbes Field.
Trailing 2-1 at halftime, Greenfield took the lead in the second half only to surrender an equalizer in the 80th and final minute of regulation.
However, with penalty kicks looming, the Knights found happiness in the 95th minute.
Freshman Jeremy Alvarez ran onto a bouncing ball in the box from junior Jackson Stone and put it away, giving Greenfield what would prove to be the game-winning goal in a 5-3 victory. Both teams have now won overtime games on their respective home fields, with WCD logging a 2-1 overtime win on Aug. 31.
Junior Alonso Hernandez converted a penalty kick in the 100th and final minute of play to cap the scoring, elevating the Knights to 11-7-2 overall and 4-1 in the split 1-A/2-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference. Wayne Country Day, which lost for the first time since its opener, dropped to 15-2 and lost for the first time in seven CPIC matches.
The senior trio of Cullen Wells, Kris Castete and Argenis Mejia-Rodriguez, back from injuries, have helped the Knights regain some of the potency that has also been masked by a challenging nonconference schedule.
But Hernandez had the biggest journey back of them all.
“We had a lot of injuries at the beginning of the season that kind of held us back to what I knew we could show,” Greenfield head coach Randol Mendoza said. “But now, having those players coming back at this stage in the season proved the difference tonight. A special night for Alonso, as he’s recovering from an ACL surgery. So for him to get the opportunity to make a difference in the last 10 minutes of the overtime period and be called on by his teammates to take the PK, it shows the confidence that the team was displaying towards Alonso.”
Wayne Country Day struck quickly in the seventh minute, using a through ball from Benjamin Cohen to Nehemiya Shaw to take the early lead. Greenfield sophomore Zeke Ferrell soon countered, knocking in a cross in the 12th minute to equalize. After Cohen sent the Chargers back up in the 13th minute for the halftime score, Ferrell ran onto a ball in the box and tied it at 2 in the 39th.
The match opened up considerably in the last 22 minutes of regulation, giving an edge to Greenfield. Rodriguez drew a foul in the 63rd minute, allowing Stone to approach the ball from approximately 23 yards out. He drove the ball low along the right side, putting it past the goal line to give Greenfield the lead.
That stood until Cohen temporarily broke Greenfield’s hearts in the 80th minute to put the match into a pair of 10-minute overtimes. But once the Chargers took the only shot of the first overtime, Cohen went down with a right leg cramp in the 93rd and didn’t return.
Two minutes later, Alvarez had his game winner and set off a mini-scrum of a celebration with Greenfield students — and soccer-playing alumni.
“I just had this feeling that I needed to finish,” Alvarez said. “Too many people came out to see me, and I couldn’t miss that shot.”
Junior goalkeeper Luke Flaherty had five saves for the Knights.
By Jimmy Lewis jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter: @JimmyLewisWT
A healthy Greenfield School varsity boys soccer team remains a dangerous outfit when the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A playoffs roll around.
With that thought in mind, the Knights, defending 1-A state champions, extended their own winning streak to six games while halting a 15-game unbeaten streak for archrival Wayne Country Day on a crisp Homecoming fall night on Forbes Field.
Trailing 2-1 at halftime, Greenfield took the lead in the second half only to surrender an equalizer in the 80th and final minute of regulation.
However, with penalty kicks looming, the Knights found happiness in the 95th minute.
Freshman Jeremy Alvarez ran onto a bouncing ball in the box from junior Jackson Stone and put it away, giving Greenfield what would prove to be the game-winning goal in a 5-3 victory. Both teams have now won overtime games on their respective home fields, with WCD logging a 2-1 overtime win on Aug. 31.
Junior Alonso Hernandez converted a penalty kick in the 100th and final minute of play to cap the scoring, elevating the Knights to 11-7-2 overall and 4-1 in the split 1-A/2-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference. Wayne Country Day, which lost for the first time since its opener, dropped to 15-2 and lost for the first time in seven CPIC matches.
The senior trio of Cullen Wells, Kris Castete and Argenis Mejia-Rodriguez, back from injuries, have helped the Knights regain some of the potency that has also been masked by a challenging nonconference schedule.
But Hernandez had the biggest journey back of them all.
“We had a lot of injuries at the beginning of the season that kind of held us back to what I knew we could show,” Greenfield head coach Randol Mendoza said. “But now, having those players coming back at this stage in the season proved the difference tonight. A special night for Alonso, as he’s recovering from an ACL surgery. So for him to get the opportunity to make a difference in the last 10 minutes of the overtime period and be called on by his teammates to take the PK, it shows the confidence that the team was displaying towards Alonso.”
Wayne Country Day struck quickly in the seventh minute, using a through ball from Benjamin Cohen to Nehemiya Shaw to take the early lead. Greenfield sophomore Zeke Ferrell soon countered, knocking in a cross in the 12th minute to equalize. After Cohen sent the Chargers back up in the 13th minute for the halftime score, Ferrell ran onto a ball in the box and tied it at 2 in the 39th.
The match opened up considerably in the last 22 minutes of regulation, giving an edge to Greenfield. Rodriguez drew a foul in the 63rd minute, allowing Stone to approach the ball from approximately 23 yards out. He drove the ball low along the right side, putting it past the goal line to give Greenfield the lead.
That stood until Cohen temporarily broke Greenfield’s hearts in the 80th minute to put the match into a pair of 10-minute overtimes. But once the Chargers took the only shot of the first overtime, Cohen went down with a right leg cramp in the 93rd and didn’t return.
Two minutes later, Alvarez had his game winner and set off a mini-scrum of a celebration with Greenfield students — and soccer-playing alumni.
“I just had this feeling that I needed to finish,” Alvarez said. “Too many people came out to see me, and I couldn’t miss that shot.”
Junior goalkeeper Luke Flaherty had five saves for the Knights.
