Greencastle girls fall one goal short in soccer sectional

Monday, October 9, 2017
Greencastle goalie Claire Gillen makes one of her nine saves against Southmont on Saturday night.
Banner Graphic/JOEY BENNETT

NEW MARKET – Southmont had never won a girls’ soccer sectional title prior to Saturday, while Greencastle had won four times over the past 16 years.

The teams played to a 1-1 tie during their regular-season match, and the rematch in the sectional finals was deadlocked at 2-2 with a little over five minutes to play and seemed headed toward being decided by penalty kicks.

Southmont’s Macy Zachary had other ideas.

The Mountie senior standout, who has 42 of her team’s 70 goals this season and has 126 for her stellar career, broke the tie on a goal with 5:13 left and her team was able to hold on for the 3-2 victory.

The match was delayed for 90 minutes due to a thunderstorm that passed through the area, and it only took 4:16 before Greencastle freshman Kennedy Trigg got her team on the scoreboard first with a goal on an assist from Erin Thomas.

Zachary tied the match at 1-1 on her first goal of the match with 17:14 left in the first half, and Thomas – the team’s junior leading scorer – regained the advantage for her team on a goal just 33.4 seconds before halftime.

Southmont got a goal from Avery Hess just 2:41 into the second half to tie score, and the teams jockeyed back and forth for the next 32:06 without any scoring before Zachary’s winning shot.

“What a day that was to ride out the storm and then have an evenly-matched scoreboard for most of the game,” Greencastle coach Angie Weeks said. “The team was disappointed to not bring home the sectional title trophy, but I know that each player both on the field and off the field played with true determination and willingness to never give up.

“It was a very late kickoff [8:30 p.m.] for the team, but they were committed to the day and what it had brought them. I really think that if given five more minutes to play and knowing that the field was drying out the Lady Tiger Cubs could have gotten their much needed winning score in the back of the net.”

Junior goalkeeper Claire Gillen was kept busy on the night, and made nine saves.

“Claire had some tremendous saves and deflected several shots to keep the opponent’s scores down,” Weeks said. “Her leadership skills with the defensive line were commendable at Southmont.”

Weeks was happy that her team, which finished with an 8-4-1 record, was able to have a great season and return all but two team members to build a strong foundation for the future.

“The players have really bonded since they started their season in August and many freshmen have risen to the challenge as varsity starters,” Weeks said. “Seniors Corinne Buchanan (midfielder) and Megan Friars (defender) helped to lead the young team to the sectional finals’ last seconds. The season has proven that GHS girls’ soccer is on the rise again.”

Weeks was also pleased with the way the team came together as a unit.

“I look forward to strong offensive action next year and am positive about the aspect that nine of the 11 starters from the team will be returning next season,” she said. “It has been an honor to coach these fine athletes and to build a program that supports each other.

“Many of these athletes have grown up playing soccer together and it is very rewarding to see their efforts pay off with a successful winning season.”

Southmont advances to the Heritage Christian Regional on Saturday and will play Covenant Christian of Indianapolis in the second semifinal match.

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  • Kudos on a great season, ladies!

    Now if Greencastle High School will only get rid of this coach.

    -- Posted by AverageWhiteGuy on Tue, Oct 10, 2017, at 9:32 AM
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