Whiteland’s Rylie Clark, right, kicks a ball past Greenwood’s Avah Wallischeck that made its way in for the first goal of Wednesday’s match.
Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
Whiteland had been pretty stingy defensively through its first five matches of the season, allowing just one goal on its way to a 4-1 start. Greenwood, meanwhile, went through its first four games without surrendering any.
Technically, something did not have to give when the two teams met at Break-O-Day Elementary School on Wednesday night. But it did.
A back-door goal by freshman Rylie Clark in the 60th minute broke a stalemate and paved the way for what became a 2-0 Warrior victory.
“We just kept playing,” Whiteland coach Nick Magdalinos said. “I wouldn’t say it was our best night; we just kind of kept battling, and good things bounced our way. … They’re a resilient group, and they found a way to win.”
Scoring chances were unsurprisingly hard to come by in the first half, with perhaps the only real opportunity coming on an Alexa LaPorte free kick in the final minute. The Whiteland senior put some mustard on her shot from about 20 yards out, but Greenwood goalkeeper Brooklyn Benefiel turned it away to keep the sides deadlocked going into the break.
Magdalinos urged his team to pick things up after halftime, and the Warriors did, keeping the ball in their attacking third for much of the second half’s first 20 minutes. The Woodmen (3-1-1, 1-1-1 Mid-State) didn’t buckle under that pressure until about midway through the half, when a loose ball in front of the goal mouth found its way to Clark just inside the left post and the rookie midfielder knocked it home with 20:19 remaining in the match.
Greenwood had its chances to pull even over the next nine minutes but couldn’t convert.
The Woodmen had a breakaway opportunity just seconds after Clark’s tally, but the ball got out just a bit too far in front of the attack and it was smothered by Whiteland senior goalkeeper Addison Emberton.
In the 67th minute, Ava Brawley got a good shot off from the left side of the goal, but Warrior defender Madeline McGuire was able to deflect it away. Two minutes later, Joelle Young got a solid foot on the ball from the top of the box and put it on target, but Emberton was able to tap it over the top of the crossbar.
The Warriors were able to count on a veteran defense, led by Emberton and senior center back Hailey Hillhouse, to ward off those challenges and preserve the lead.
“It’s just our teamwork back there,” Hillhouse said. “We know how to work with each other, move the ball around — and we just want it, so we’re going to go get it. We see the ball go down the sideline, we’re not going to let people get past us.”
After surviving Greenwood’s surge, Whiteland (5-1, 1-1) got some insurance at the other end amid another traffic jam. With Benefiel on the ground after making a save, Warrior sophomore Marin Koch got a shot off that initially appeared to get cleared out by a Greenwood defender. Play continued for a few seconds before the officials conferred and determined that Koch’s shot had made it across the goal line.
Woodmen coach Dan Appelbaum was pleased with the fight that his team — which was playing without striker Katia Loper — showed in defeat.
“We ask the girls to be 1% better every single time they step foot on that field,” he said. “Tonight, we got our 1% better, and we just came up a little short.”
Having improved every season thus far under Magdalinos and coming up one step short of a sectional championship last fall, the Warriors are brimming with confidence and eager to work toward that elusive title over the coming weeks.
An almost-impenetrable defense that has shut out five of six opponents has certainly helped boost morale.
“The confidence builds from the work that we’ve put in, and we’re coming for it, for sure,” Hillhouse said. “I think out of any year, this is definitely our year.”
