Greencastle edges North Putnam

Wednesday night at the Dee S. Monnet Field the "Golden Boot" switched ownership from North Putnam to Greencastle as the host Tiger Cubs won a 3-0 decision during a penalty kick shoot out in girls' soccer.

The first half of the game was evenly matched as the Tiger Cubs and Cougars battled back and forth over possession of the ball. Though both teams desperately wanted to put one in the back of the net, neither team was able to connect and the first half remained scoreless.

Greencastle came out strong in the second half, with sophomore Sydney Secrest and junior Melody White leading the charge. However, their shots never proved to be fruitful, as they were either stopped by Cougar freshman goalkeeper Claire Sims or sailed over the crossbar.

Greencastle dominated most of the second half, as they took on a talented North Putnam defense led by junior Haven Trent, which kept the Cubs scoreless.

Late in the second half, the Cougar offense found their legs and began attacking Greencastle's back line. North Putnam's Cayla Kientz was able to squeeze a few nice shots through the Tiger Cub defense, but Greencastle defender Mackenzie Kean and goalkeeper Amelia Smith held on and would not let Kientz score.

With no goals being scored at the end of 80 minutes, the conference opponents faced a 14-minute overtime.

The energy was palpable and nerves were running high as both teams took the field for overtime. The rivals kept up their intensity, refusing to let the other one sneak in a goal, though there were a few close saves. Still scoreless the teams entered a penalty kick shoot out to determine the match winner.

North Putnam won the coin toss and Kientz took the first shot, which was saved by Smith. Secrest was the first shooter for Greencastle and with a low placed ball to the right corner, Secrest put the Tiger Cubs on the scoreboard.

It was Greencastle's keeper though who stole the show.

After a shot that went just over the cross bar, Smith was able to save the third shot by the Cougars, a very tough placed and paced shot heading for the lower right corner.

Following on the heels of teammate Katie Rose Parsons, who scored the second goal for the Tiger Cubs, Smith was the third and ultimately final shooter for the night.

An unusual predicament for a keeper, Smith found herself doing the very thing she fought all game against happening -- she put the ball in the back of net just past Cougar keeper, Claire Sims' hands. With a 3-0 lead and only two shooters per team left, Greencastle took the victory and the Golden Boot back to the locker room.

The Golden Boot is the traveling trophy awarded to the victor of the annual matchup between the two county and conference foes.