By Ken Severson, for the Daily Journal
The Greenwood boys’ soccer team scored four goals in each half and easily defeated crosstown rival and host Greenwood Christian, 8-0, Monday evening in a match that both teams wanted desperately to win.
Not only because it was a rivalry but, more to the point, both teams needed wins.
Greenwood (3-8-1) snapped a four-game winless streak; meanwhile, the Cougars (3-10) have now lost eight of their past nine games.
“We needed a win. It was absolutely mandatory for them, because they have had a lot of games this season where we were putting a lot of possession and beautiful play together and we just didn’t make it count. It was big,” Greenwood coach Dan Priscu said.
After a somewhat slow start, junior midfielder Nick Mullins started the goal-a-rama for the Woodmen by scoring the first of his two goals.
Once that first shot went in, Greenwood picked its spots and also got pretty aggressive on the field, controlling the ball and speed of play.
Sophomore Fabian Martin then scored, while both senior Alex Asumani and junior Jake Callow came off the bench to effectively put the game away with goals in the first half.
The Woodmen’s possession pleased Priscu.
“We have a good possession style,” Priscu said. “We’re trying to work it out so that we always make it more efficient. That’s been our biggest hindrance. We don’t always make it count.”
They made it count on Monday.
The Woodmen again started a bit slow in the second half, but after Mullins’ second goal, the next three came within minutes of each other as Callow, Martin and Asumani each equaled their scoring output from the first half.
Callow’s second goal was a thing of beauty, as he took a pass from Josh Harris and used his head for a crowd-pleaser.
Priscu was quick to praise the Cougars for their play.
“Respect to GCA,” he said. “Love the rivalry overall and I do like that these two teams have this kind of incentive. It’s good.
“It feels something, and I like it.”
Greenwood won’t have too much time to enjoy this one as it turns around and host Whiteland today. The Cougars end their regular season Thursday night when they travel to Indianapolis Lutheran.
