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Greencastle star signs to play soccer at SMWC
Being fast and never running out of energy are two positive qualities that outstanding soccer players often have.
Consider Greencastle’s Evan Crowe as two-for-two on that list.
“I’m so hyper,” he said. “I think it helps in soccer.”
Crowe was the leading scorer on Greencastle’s conference and sectional championship team, and St. Mary-of-the-Woods head coach Abe Tizaf knew he was the kind of player he wanted next fall when the school fields its first-ever men’s soccer team.
Crowe recently signed a national letter-of-intent to join the Pomeroys, and he’s excited to be a member of the inaugural SMWC team.
“I chose the Woods because I’ve known the coach for a couple years, playing for a club team of his in the summer,” Crowe said. “He told me one day I should look into going to the Woods, and we got together and I took a visit. We just talked soccer, and he gave me a great offer that I couldn’t pass up.”
Tizaf has signed seven other players for his first team, and Crowe knows some of them from playing against them in the past.
“It’s definitely going to be a building program, especially in the first year,” he said. “Hopefully we learn from whatever mistakes we make.”
Crowe led the 16-2-2 Tiger Cubs with 21 goals and 16 assists.
He plans to major in physical therapy and minor in biology, and go to grad school somewhere nearby in physical therapy.
Crowe is not blind to the fact that the Woods only started admitting male students in 2015, and had he been born earlier this opportunity would not have been available.
“I told my dad when this came up that I was definitely in the right place at the right time,” he said. “It’s just crazy.”
Crowe will always look back favorably on his senior year, in which the Tiger Cubs only lost twice and had a tremendous season.
“When all of us seniors came in as freshmen, it started off kind of rocky,” he said. “We just started building up to our senior year, and just went out with a bang.”
The Cubs lost a 2-1 heartbreaker in overtime to Silver Creek, a team which Crowe thinks was a mirror image of his own.
“I told coach [J.D. Sims] at halftime that we are the exact same [kind of] team as them,” he said. “I knew it was going to go right down to the wire.”
Coach J.D. Sims predicts success at the next level for Crowe.
“He’ll be hugely successful and will play a big role there,” Sims said. “He played a huge role here, and it will be great for him to get to play with higher-skill level players there.”
Crowe was shut out in the final couple of matches after drawing attention from opponents.
“Other teams knew he was going to be a threat,” Sims said. “The stress of it all coming to an end and the pressure were also a lot, but he started moving the ball around a lot more.
“Even though he wasn’t scoring, he was still as big of a part of our offense as when he scored more.”
Sims noted that Crowe’s quickness will be a huge asset in college.
“He has a great attitude, and is a leader,” Sims said. “He sees soccer differently than other kids. He just has that raw talent and the ability to want to learn. He wants to be a great player.”
Tizaf is glad to have Crowe on board.
“We are very excited to have Evan join our program,” Tizaf said. “He is such a great student and athlete. We can’t wait to see him in action.”
Crowe knows he will need to improve his game to the college level for the Pomeroys, who compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association.
“College is a lot more physical and fast-paced,” he said. “I’m definitely going to have to step up, but I’m ready for that.”