GHS shakes off dust, comes away with 4-2 win against Monrovia

Sophomore Zach Wilkerson catches the Monrovia keeper leaning on his successfull penalty kick attempt during the second half on Tuesday. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

GHS boys' soccer coach Dave Lilly warned his team before Tuesday's season-opening match not to come out slow. So, of course, that's exactly what happened.

The Tiger Cubs didn't succumb to their slow start, however, and they came away with a 4-2 win against Monrovia.

"We wanted to come out and try to take control early," Lilly said. "I was glad to see the guys come fighting back."

Sophomore Zach Wilkerson led the Tiger Cubs, contributing to all four marks with a goal and three assists. His penalty kick early in the second half lifted GHS's lead to 3-1.

The slow start Lilly feared was marred by sloppy passing dragging legs and unaggressive passes.

Monrovia senior Conner Stader seized control of the ball with a steal near midfield on the right side of the field. He drove toward the goal line, wide to the right, then blasted a strike that curved around GHS goalie Zane Miller, clanked off the left post and bounced into the net 7:20 into the first half.

Greencastle seemed to wake up after giving up the goal. Senior Paul Heithaus got the team's first shot on net at 25:15 and later fed a pass to the net from beyond midfield, but the header by Sedrick Weinschenk was also stopped by junior Garrett Riffel, Monrovia's keeper.

The Tiger Cubs finally got on the board late in the first half and it started a nice run for the hosts.

Wilkerson served a pace in from the right side that Heithaus controlled in front of the net before he knocked it in at 29:00. Wilkerson repeated the feat, launching a pass from beyond midfield that Weinschenk tipped to sophomore Justin Hartman. Hartman headed the ball in at 32:00 in the first half.

A handball in the box gave the Tiger Cubs a PK four minutes into the second half. Greencastle's final goal came after Alex Briones picked up a steal in the Bulldogs' zone and hit a strike from 18 yards out.

Garrett Wolf scored for the Bulldogs at 19:26 but the Tiger Cubs controlled the ball throughout the rest of the match to secure a 4-2 and 1-0 record.

"I think I was happy with the way our core guys played," Lilly said. "It is early. We've got some stuff to work on."

The Tiger Cubs were a little sloppy, but they flashed a few bright spots. Including:

The confident play of Wilkerson
The sophomore gained experience last season and used that to build his confidence. Lilly said he has several players with a comparable skill level but Wilkerson is the only one consistently wants to take the ball through traffic to contribute to scoring chances.

"We've got probably five guys that can handle the ball as well as he does, it's just the other guys aren't playing with as much confidence as he is right now," Lilly said.

Greencastle's aggressive defense will give opponents fits
Zane Miller was solid in net, allow one kind of fluky goal off the post and another late one the looped over his head, but his performance was greatly helped by the defense in front of him. The Tiger Cubs swarmed the Bulldogs, keeping constant tight pressure on their opponent when they got into the offensive zone. Unless there was a turnover, Monrovia didn't have any space to get speed or open shots.

Tight spaces help the Tiger Cubs' D, but it hurt them on offense
Greencastle's (at times) sloppy passing meant the team had to take the ball closer to the net, which compacted the field and made getting stops easier for the Bulldogs. It's early in the season and the passing will get better, but Lilly said his team is going to focus heavily on spacing as it prepares for Thursday's game against Lebanon.

"We need to have more depth and the guys in the midfield need to be more patient," he said. "Lebanon is a bigger school. They always have numbers and they're always big and physical. We've got to do a better job of spacing and passing away from them or we're going to get guys who are getting hit."

Greencastle sophomore Jacob Kessler (6) battles for the ball with Monrovia's Connor Stader during the first half of the Tiger Cubs' season opener on Tuesday. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

At Greencastle
Monrovia..............1 1 -- 2
Greencastle..........2 2 -- 4