With Old Man Winter hanging on for dear life, both Greenwood High School varsity soccer teams opened their 2013 seasons last week with a flurry of action. They hosted Van Buren on February 26th and Poteau, OK on the 28th, before hosting several teams in a tournament at Smith-Robinson Stadium this past weekend.
Against Van Buren, the Lady Bulldogs battled the Lady Pointers to a 0-0 tie after missing a pair of scoring chances in the second half. Greenwood’s Maddie Gilliam took a shot on a set piece with two minutes left, but couldn’t sneak it past the Van Buren goalkeeper. The Lady Bulldogs also took an unsuccessful corner kick in the waning minutes of the game.
The GHS boys defeated the Pointers 3-2, getting a pair of goals from Levi Alvarez to go along with a single tally by Matias Ebeling.
Against Poteau, the junior varsity girls won 4-1 on the strength of goals by Becca Cox, Emily Jones, Jenna Passmore, and Abbie Moore. The JV boys lost 2-0 to Poteau.
In varsity play, the Greenwood girls were up 2-0 over Poteau at the half on goals by Maddie Gilliam and Piper Hartness, with an assist from Regan Jones. Gilliam also scored the final goal of the match in the 3-0 GHS victory. But the GHS boys were shutout by Poteau, 2-0.
This past Saturday both teams were scheduled to play in the Sykes Invitational Tournament at Ben Geren Park in Fort Smith. But the field conditions at Ben Geren were such that the event was moved to Greenwood’s Smith-Robinson Stadium. Several area teams competed in the all-day tournament.
The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the first half on a goal by Hayden "Pony" Kelly off a corner kick, then scored on a pass from Jake Odell to Dion Alvarez and a shot into the net by Mattias Ebeling. Leading 2-0 early in the second half, Greenwood played tough defense and held on as Mena scored to pull within a single goal, but fell to the Bulldogs 2-1.
Next up for the GHS boys was Gentry High School. At the half, the match was still scoreless, though the Bulldogs had dominated in time of possession. But Gentry found the back of the net in the second half and pulled out the narrow 1-0 victory.
Huntsville was the final opponent of the day for the Bulldogs. Greenwood took a 1-0 lead with a lightning fast shot to the back of the net by Dion Alvarez. The ‘Dogs scored again early in the second half on a corner kick by Alvarez, set up by an assist from Avery Sinkular.
In girls’ play last Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs lost 1-0 to Mena in their opener. In game two against Gentry, the GHS girls took a 1-0 first half lead on a penalty kick by Maddie Gilliam. They increased their lead in the second half on a left-footed goal by Piper Hartness for the 2-0 victory.
The Lady Bulldogs finished the day strong with a 4-1 triumph over Huntsville. They took a 1-0 lead in the first half on a rocket shot by Emily Jones, then zoomed to a commanding 3-0 halftime advantage after a pair of quick goals by Jennah Passmore and Reagan Jones. Abbey Moore added another Greenwood goal in the second half.
Up next for GHS soccer will be matches this Friday at Conway, next Tuesday at home against Russellville, and next Thursday at Little Rock Parkview. Tuesday’s home contest with Russellville begins at 4 p.m. with a boys junior varsity match, followed by the varsity girls and boys at approximately 5:15 and 7 p.m., respectively.
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