Greenville Christian tops Wayne Christian with late goal
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 22, 2014 1:48 PM
rcoggins@newsargus.com
Had Wayne Christian played 80 minutes of soccer, the outcome could have possibly been different against Greenville Central on Thursday evening.
But a passive first half and one second-half defensive lapse proved critical in the Eagles' 2-1, non-conference loss on their home pitch. Tyler House delivered the game-winning goal around the 74th minute and handed out an assist for the Knights, who were playing their season-opening game.
Wayne Christian fell to 0-3-0 overall.
Greenville Christian organized well, stepped into open spaces and generated dangerous attacks on frame throughout the opening half. The Knights misfired on two attempts within the first 10 minutes, but continued to pressure an Eagles defense that struggled to drop back in transition.
"The guys had to pick up their effort because they weren't going to the ball, the last 10 or 15 minutes, we were getting beat to the ball bad," WCS head coach Daryl Anderson said. "We just got sloppy. Our passes were not dead-on. We had to get more accurate with our passes, more aggressive with our passes."
House drew a hard foul just outside the 18-yard box in the 30th minute. He lofted an indirect free kick over the wall and toward teammate Cameron Peaden, who was unmarked near the back post.
Peaden headed it home for the 1-0 lead.
"I had a guy tired and didn't know it," said Anderson, who used more than 20 subs in the game. "As soon as they scored, I looked for the guy who was supposed to be marking him (Peaden) and he said 'coach, I have to come out, I'm dizzy.'"
Around the 38-minute mark, the Eagles' Skyler Price and Knights' Matthew Cripe battled for possession inside the penalty area. Price drew a foul and subsequent penalty kick.
As he stepped toward the ball, Price hesitated, which gave Greenville Christian keeper JJ Fisher a split second to regroup on the line. Price fired a point-blank range shot toward Fisher's chest, who easily blocked the ball and preserved the Knights' one-goal advantage.
"Huge," Anderson said. "If he wouldn't have hesitated, I think it would have been a tie game."
Wayne Christian controlled the possession in the second half. Anderson's team worked balls through the midfield and pushed them wide to stretch the Knights' defense.
Price redeemed himself past the midway point of the second half. A cross came from the right side into a cluttered penalty area and a Greenville Christian player stabbed at the ball.
The ball stopped momentarily, which gave Price enough time to settle his feet and rip a low shot toward the back post for the 1-1 tie.
House tallied the game winner several minutes later after he slipped behind the defense, and tucked the ball into the right corner of the net.
"When they had it (in the second half), they did some good stuff with it," Anderson said of the Knights. "They're a good team, not discrediting them at all. If we had stepped it up in the first half like we did in the second half, I think things would have been different."