Lady Crusaders fall to 4A powerhouse
• By JOHN CATE JCAT
Grace Christian soccer coach Nate Rhine makes no secret of the fact that he plans his games, and his schedules, with one goal in mind — winning championships.
So while he wasn’t happy with a 6-3 loss to Cannon School in the team’s home opener Tuesday evening, neither was he discouraged. Cannon is a traditional NCISAA 4A powerhouse from Charlotte, and while the Lady Crusaders have the talent to match them, they do not have the experience.
At least not yet.
“Cannon School is a historically strong soccer program,” said Rhine. “One thing I wanted to add this year was strength of schedule in soccer and baseball across the board.”
The visitors had their way in a first half where Grace (1-1) too often was in disarray. Still, most of the damage was done in one 20-minute stretch where the Lady Crusaders kept committing unforced errors and Cannon made them pay for it, scoring three times to take control of the match.
At halftime, Rhine told his team they were not playing up to their ability and played scared against the Cougars (3-0), and he thought Grace was just as good as they were.
“Last week in our opener at Harrells, I was missing five players,” Rhine said. “Plus we brought in nine new players this season. We need to develop team chemistry and learn to trust each other. We can play better than this. When we see them again in three weeks, I think this is a team we can hold our own with and even beat.”
In the second half, he was right. The Lady Crusaders played them to a 2-2 tie in final 40 minutes of play.
Grace’s biggest problem was senior striker Brooke van Epps, a highly-rated track star who scored five goals in Cannon’s first two matches of the season. Van Epps staked Cannon to a quick 1-0 lead with a goal in the sixth minute. Grace answered two minutes later when its own standout, reigning Mid-Carolina Conference Player of the Year Zahra Fepessi, put in a ball off a corner kick to tie the score, but the Lady Crusaders would pose little threat in the remainder of the first half.
In the 13th minute, van Epps drew the defense toward her and crossed to teammate Morgan Brown to put the visitors back on top. The Cougars turned up the heat a notch and kept attacking, increasing their lead to 3-1 in minute 23 on a goal by Morgan Brown off a well-place free kick, and to 4-1 10 minutes later, when Sarah Little sent a through-ball to Epps, who finished.
Grace looked much better in the second half, although still showing inexperience. They had two strong scoring chances in the first 20 minutes but weren’t able to find the net, and when someone did, it was van Epps on a 30-foot bomb of a shot in the 62nd minute.
To its credit, Grace didn’t fold.
In minute 65, Aubrey Roy sent a through-ball into Fepessi, who scored to make it 5-2. A minute later, van Epps was back at it, this time assisting Little for her team’s last goal of the contest.
The Lady Crusaders salvaged the second-half tie when Fepessi made a cross to Sydney Damude at the 79-minute mark.
Grace was outshot 13-8 and made several mistakes, but nothing that Rhine didn’t feel was correctible. He was happy to get the competition and looked forward to facing Cannon again on March 28.
“We played slow and sloppy in the first half, but much better in the second half,” said Rhine.
Last Thursday, Grace had begun its season with a 5-0 shutout on the road at Harrells Christian, in a battle to determine who the best Crusaders were. Both teams use the name. Despite being shorthanded, Grace allowed just two shots on goal and easily could have mercy-ruled their hosts, except that 13 of its shots hit the crossbar.
Emma Grace Dubuc scored the season’s first goal in minute four, with Fepessi and Emma McNeil both scoring before the first half ended. Fepessi and McNeil both scored in the second half as well. Fepessi had two assists, with Claire Edwards and Dubuc each getting one.
Grace will travel to Thales of Rolesville on Thursday for a 4:30 p.m. contest.
• By JOHN CATE JCAT
Grace Christian soccer coach Nate Rhine makes no secret of the fact that he plans his games, and his schedules, with one goal in mind — winning championships.
So while he wasn’t happy with a 6-3 loss to Cannon School in the team’s home opener Tuesday evening, neither was he discouraged. Cannon is a traditional NCISAA 4A powerhouse from Charlotte, and while the Lady Crusaders have the talent to match them, they do not have the experience.
At least not yet.
“Cannon School is a historically strong soccer program,” said Rhine. “One thing I wanted to add this year was strength of schedule in soccer and baseball across the board.”
The visitors had their way in a first half where Grace (1-1) too often was in disarray. Still, most of the damage was done in one 20-minute stretch where the Lady Crusaders kept committing unforced errors and Cannon made them pay for it, scoring three times to take control of the match.
At halftime, Rhine told his team they were not playing up to their ability and played scared against the Cougars (3-0), and he thought Grace was just as good as they were.
“Last week in our opener at Harrells, I was missing five players,” Rhine said. “Plus we brought in nine new players this season. We need to develop team chemistry and learn to trust each other. We can play better than this. When we see them again in three weeks, I think this is a team we can hold our own with and even beat.”
In the second half, he was right. The Lady Crusaders played them to a 2-2 tie in final 40 minutes of play.
Grace’s biggest problem was senior striker Brooke van Epps, a highly-rated track star who scored five goals in Cannon’s first two matches of the season. Van Epps staked Cannon to a quick 1-0 lead with a goal in the sixth minute. Grace answered two minutes later when its own standout, reigning Mid-Carolina Conference Player of the Year Zahra Fepessi, put in a ball off a corner kick to tie the score, but the Lady Crusaders would pose little threat in the remainder of the first half.
In the 13th minute, van Epps drew the defense toward her and crossed to teammate Morgan Brown to put the visitors back on top. The Cougars turned up the heat a notch and kept attacking, increasing their lead to 3-1 in minute 23 on a goal by Morgan Brown off a well-place free kick, and to 4-1 10 minutes later, when Sarah Little sent a through-ball to Epps, who finished.
Grace looked much better in the second half, although still showing inexperience. They had two strong scoring chances in the first 20 minutes but weren’t able to find the net, and when someone did, it was van Epps on a 30-foot bomb of a shot in the 62nd minute.
To its credit, Grace didn’t fold.
In minute 65, Aubrey Roy sent a through-ball into Fepessi, who scored to make it 5-2. A minute later, van Epps was back at it, this time assisting Little for her team’s last goal of the contest.
The Lady Crusaders salvaged the second-half tie when Fepessi made a cross to Sydney Damude at the 79-minute mark.
Grace was outshot 13-8 and made several mistakes, but nothing that Rhine didn’t feel was correctible. He was happy to get the competition and looked forward to facing Cannon again on March 28.
“We played slow and sloppy in the first half, but much better in the second half,” said Rhine.
Last Thursday, Grace had begun its season with a 5-0 shutout on the road at Harrells Christian, in a battle to determine who the best Crusaders were. Both teams use the name. Despite being shorthanded, Grace allowed just two shots on goal and easily could have mercy-ruled their hosts, except that 13 of its shots hit the crossbar.
Emma Grace Dubuc scored the season’s first goal in minute four, with Fepessi and Emma McNeil both scoring before the first half ended. Fepessi and McNeil both scored in the second half as well. Fepessi had two assists, with Claire Edwards and Dubuc each getting one.
Grace will travel to Thales of Rolesville on Thursday for a 4:30 p.m. contest.
