Senior players for Greenwood Christian show off the sectional championship trophy after Saturday’s win against Lighthouse Christian.
Submitted photo
SWITZ CITY
The celebration bordered on subdued, which for Class A No. 6 Greenwood Christian is code for there being more work to be done.
On Saturday, the Cougars picked up their seventh sectional championship with a 5-0 shutout of Lighthouse Christian in the title match at White River Valley.
GCA players are taking nothing for granted despite last season’s state runner-up status.
“What I said to the guys is, let’s just take it one moment at a time,” senior Xander Honeycutt said. “Don’t look at regionals or semistates or state, where we were last year.
“A big thing is just the practices leading up to the game. Your focus in that practice is really going to carry over into how you’re going to play the game.”
A wakeup call along the way doesn’t hurt, either.
Greenwood Christian sweated out a 3-2 victory over host WRV in the first round on Wednesday, doing what needed to be done despite playing on a grass field not quite boasting the dimensions to which the Cougars are accustomed.
“We kind of didn’t practice well before White River Valley,” Honeycutt added. “I mean, we played decent, but we just did simple things that almost cost us the game. After that, we were like, let’s play like it’s our last game.”
The Cougars did everything in their power to ensure that it wasn’t.
Greenwood Christian dominated play from the outset against Lighthouse Christian, attempting 17 shots to the Lions’ two over the first 40 minutes.
Two of GCA’s first eight tries bounced off the left post of the Lighthouse goal and back onto the pitch; the Lions already trailed, 8-0, in shots before finally attempting their first, a kick from the left side with 6:19 remaining in the first half that sailed 10 feet over the head of Cougars’ goalkeeper Colton Flint.
Sophomore Bo Campbell scored three of the Cougars’ goals, including those that gave his team a 2-0 lead at intermission.
Honeycutt’s penalty kick just over 13 minutes into the second half made it a three-goal game. GCA’s final two goals were scored by freshman Caleb Amador and Campbell.
Greenwood Christian didn’t play Lighthouse Christian during the regular season.
“I watched the tape a couple times on their game on Wednesday night when they beat Bloomfield, 2-1,” Cougars coach Steve Campbell said. “I didn’t necessarily think they were the more skilled team, but they played with a lot of heart.
“This was a challenge, and it was a challenge last year watching these guys play down here on a small field. It was bumpy and much smaller than a regulation-size soccer field, so it’s easy to get frustrated. The difference between Wednesday night and today was the fact we kept our composure a little bit more, played team ball and didn’t get frustrated.”
Greenwood Christian (13-4) finished with four times as many shots as the Lions (28-7). Picking up assists were junior Caden Camden and sophomores Trey Dobson and Aiden Patino.
The Cougars face a much sterner test Wednesday when they host a regional match against fifth-ranked Oldenburg Academy (17-2).
A most sizable hurdle to clear if GCA is to advance to semistate a second consecutive season.
“I just think that everyone is hungry. We all want to go back to state,” Flint said. “We want to go again, and actually win it.”
