Greenwood Christian Academy’s girls soccer players celebrated Thursday’s 3-3 tie against visiting Greenwood as though it was a victory. The reasons went beyond a strong showing against a crosstown rival.
The host Cougars managed a stalemate despite playing with only 10 players for the match’s final 60 minutes. For those unfamiliar with soccer.
GCA’s roster lists just 12 players, and one (Andrea Cottongim) was unavailable, as she is recovering from a concussion. When goalkeeper Ellie Bigelow banged hard into the goalpost about 20 minutes into the match and had to exit with a shoulder injury, the Cougars had no one available to replace her.
No problem; GCA already had built a 2-0 lead at that point.
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The Woodmen (5-4-1) rallied to take a 3-2 lead when a Veda Craig put in a header on a cross from Tori Graber with 7:22 left. But the Cougars responded when freshman Alison Muck got past a couple of Greenwood defenders.
Muck didn’t score initially, but a Greenwood defender inadvertently put the ball in the net with 4:24 remaining.
“They knew this was going to be a tough match, and all of them said they were really nervous,” GCA coach Joanna List said. “They came off their first win on Tuesday and they felt like they were good enough to play against any team, whether we’re playing with 11 or 10.”
The Cougars took better advantage of their limited opportunities early. Cameron Northern opened the scoring with a shot that deflected off the crossbar, then went straight down into the net with 31:59 remaining in the half.
Cassie Bigelow then cashed in from the right side after Northern set her up 2:36 later.
“We just couldn’t find the edge that we needed,” Greenwood coach Joe Mushrush said. “We were hesitant, and they weren’t. They took their chances and they were aggressive. We’ve got a lot of new girls who haven’t played. We start five sophomores and three players who have never played before in their lives, and those sorts of things happen as you get experience and grow.”
After Ellie Bigelow exited with 19:58 remaining in the first half, Greenwood needed just eight minutes to score. Sophomore midfielder Olivia Brawley lofted the ball over the outstretched arms of new goalie Alexis Mead with 11:30 left in the half. Eight minutes later, Shelby Hanson took a pass from Brooklyn Stubblefield and knotted the score at 2-2 three minutes before halftime.
Craig’s goal seemed to give the Woodmen control, until Muck’s breakaway and the ensuing own goal.
GCA hosts Muncie Burris today, while Greenwood will host Mid-State Conference rival Plainfield on Monday.
