Tiger Cubs cruise past Braves after five-goal first half

A bit of a scramble would prove unnecessary as Greencastle's Penny Cummings (11) watches as her shot eventually trickles in during Tuesday's WIC match against Indian Creek, the final tally in a 7-0 win for the hosts.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

Indian Creek’s maiden voyage in girls’ soccer took it to Greencastle Tuesday night with the match played on the turf at Robert Harbison Stadium.

The Tiger Cubs (4-1-1, 3-0 WIC), playing in their third-straight WIC match, made it a hat-trick of wins in conference play with a 7-0 win over the Braves (0-5, 0-3 WIC).

“We knew, coming in on paper, we had the advantage and, for me, I was concerned about energy, possession and the way we played and the shape we played in,” Greencastle head coach Scott Monnett said. “It’s very easy to get lulled into kick-and-chase soccer and I didn’t want to get sucked into that.

“We had some moments we backed down in the first half but overall, with our athleticism and numbers, we were able to make some good things happen.”

It took just over three minutes for Greencastle to begin its goalscoring roll as Ali Dobbs bagged the first leg of her hat-trick on the night.

Aleeyah Johnson doubled the lead before 10 minutes elapsed with Dobbs adding a second four minutes later.

Already comfortably ahead, the Tiger Cubs stepped off the gas a bit, allowing Indian Creek to catch its breath and get into the match.

Before halftime, however, the hosts added to the lead as Evie Briones scored five minutes before the break and there was still enough time for Lilly Welch to add a goal 90 seconds before the horn.

“The great thing about (Tuesday) is that things went the way we hoped,” Monnett said about holding a comfortable halftime lead. “We were able to get some great minutes for everyone in the first half and then we could rest some of our starters and players who have accumulated a lot of minutes, allowing our JV and younger players to get in to gain valuable experience.

“As it happened, as we made those changes, we were able to get a couple of goals and several opportunities after that.”

After the break, Dobbs finished off her hat-trick within the first three minutes, leading to an exodus of several starters for the remainder of the match.

The waves of attack kept coming from Greencastle though there would only be one more goal as Penny Cummings scored from a corner just past the midway point of the half.

With the win, the Tiger Cubs remained unblemished in conference play, staying on par with Sullivan, who sits at 5-0 in WIC matches.

Greencastle moves out of conference play for a pair of road matches against Southmont Thursday and Cascade Saturday.

“These are two very tough opponents, both starting the season ranked in the top-20,” Monnett said. “There will definitely be a different game plan and a different battle on those two days.”

Goals — Dobbs (3), Johnson, Briones, Welch, Cummings

Assists — Doan, Trigg, Cummings, Battin