Late goal downs Tiger Cubs

Friday, September 18, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Greencastle boys' soccer team lost its first game of the season Thursday night to the host Covenant Christian Warriors.

The Tiger Cubs came out strong and dominated play in the first half. Brandon Query scored early when he blasted a shot past Warriors keeper Nolan Shaffer with 32:21 to play in the half. The assist came courtesy of Spencer Moore, who delivered a nice centering pass to break Query free.

The Tiger Cubs had several more good looking opportunities to score in the first half, but missed or the shots where stopped by Shaffer.

GHS keeper Kyle Parker made 5 saves and they held the lead at halftime.

"We played a very good first half against a very tough opponent. I told the team this contest would be a good indicator of where we are and what we need to improve on. We learned we are a very good soccer team and that we need to stay focused for 80 minutes," GHS Dave Lilly said.

In the second half, the Tiger Cubs played more defensively and the Warriors put a lot of pressure on the Greencastle back line.

The Tiger Cubs only recorded two shots on goal in the second half, one a Moore direct free kick that hit the corner of the crossbar and deflected out. It appeared Greencastle had the game in hand, but with 2:53 to play, Todd Canal slipped through the Tiger Cubs defense, hitting a shot past Parker to tie the game.

With a minute to play, Greencastle was given a free kick in scoring range after a Warrior foul. The back line pushed forward and the free kick was taken only to have Covenant Christian regain possession and play the ball back into the Tiger Cubs end.

Canal ran past the last Tiger Cub defender and rolled a shot past Parker with 33 seconds remaining to give the Warriors the win.

"It was very disappointing to lose the way we did after controlling much of the game. We did not substitute tonight as much as we have been and it might have been a factor late in the game," Said Lilly.

In the JV match, Greencastle won 2-1. Jon Good connected on a pair of goals, both assisted by Evan Smith, to give the Tiger Cubs the win. The Tiger Cubs (7-1-2) will travel to Sullivan on Saturday to play a varsity match against the Golden Arrows at 10 a.m.

GHS 1 0 -- 1

CCHS 0 2 --2

Goals:

GHS- Query

CCHS- Canal (2)

Assists: GHS- Moore

Saves: GHS- Parker 9