Whiteland’s Cameron Reid reacts after scoring the winning goal with five minutes to go in Tuesday’s match against Greenwood Christian.
Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
By Cameron Baker
For the Daily Journal
Whiteland hosted Class A No. 8 Greenwood Christian in a seven-goal shootout on Tuesday evening. The Warriors were able to outscore, and outlast, the Cougars to win by a score of 4-3.
The victory was the second in less than a week for the Warriors (2-6-3), who have bounced back from an 0-5-1 start to the season.
“Our guys have just really bought into what we’re doing,” Whiteland coach Justin VanHorn said. “Now we’re moving the ball a lot better. The luck will turn when you keep doing what you’re supposed to do, and our luck has turned.”
Whiteland started the game off fast, with a goal coming form Lal Rin Lalte in the fourth minute. After a quick layoff pass from Cameron Reid, Lalte was able to cut through two Cougar defenders and smash the ball into the upper left corner for his first goal of the season.
The home team’s momentum continued when defender Noah Pope made a goal-line clearance after a cutback left a Cougar player wide open in the box. Whiteland then scored when Caden Rains found himself wide open in the box and slotted the ball past GCA goalkeeper Preston Van Til to put his team up 2-0.
The Cougars (5-3) struggled to play themselves into the game due to Whiteland’s ability to clean up nearly every free ball and be physical enough to throw the Cougar players off their normal rhythm. When they did work into the game, it was due to Boden Campbell spraying balls across the field and finding quick combinations to Trey Dobson and Caden Camden to spur the Cougar attack.
GCA found its first goal of the game via Dobson in the 22nd minute. After he won the fight for the ball with a Whiteland defender, he found himself one on one with Whiteland goalie Jake Witherington and was able to knock it around him for an easy goal.
The Cougars were able to equalize just seven minutes later after a scramble to clear the ball led to Andrew Ramlian just tapping the ball into the goal. After that goal, it was an even stretch of play where neither team seemed to be able to capitalize and take the lead, until Whiteland’s Awande Memani bolted down the sideline and placed a ball perfectly onto Rains’ head in the 39th minute and put Whiteland up 3-2.
Most of the second half was once again a back-and-forth affair. Both teams looked to utilize the long ball and use the speed of their attackers to find balls in behind. However, Whiteland did continue to win the physical side of the game.
“We just tell them to contain and don’t let the other guys turn. Soccer is a game that comes down to who wants it more. It’s all about winning the individual battles,” VanHorn said.
The Cougars got a lucky break in the 65th minute when a Whiteland defender was called for a hand ball in the box. Campbell’s penalty kick was saved by Witherington, but the keeper was ruled to have left his line too early and the Cougars were afforded another chance to equalize. Caden Camden stepped up and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner.
The remainder of the game seemed to be a scramble to find the winning goal, as both teams ramped up the speed of which they played. The winner eventually came from Cameron Reid with exactly five minutes left. The ball fell to Reid in the box, and the junior was able to power it inside the far post.
“We have to understand the game better, understand our positions better and communicate more as a whole,” Cougars coach Kefil Tonouewa said. “We just have to keep growing as a team. Today, we had some opportunities, but it was not our day.”
