In its first District 1-AA contest of the year the Greeneville soccer team took the attack to Volunteer early and never looked back on the way to a 9-1 win on Tuesday.
“We’re still dealing with some injuries, but it was good to come out here and get a little morale boost,” Greeneville coach Jerry Graham said. “It’s our first win and it’s an important win because it’s a conference win. We got a lot of different girls in and it was nice to get a little positivity going.”
The Lady Devils were coming off a tough weekend in Gatlinburg with three games at the Smoky Mountain Cup, and on Monday Graham needed his hobbled and worn-down squad to bring energy on Tuesday. Despite missing a few players, and changing roles of others the Lady Devils spent almost the entire first 20 minutes with the ball on their attacking half of the field.
“It was nice to see the girls press and keep the ball on that half of the field,” Graham said. “Energy wise we knew there was a chance we were going to be reeling from fatigue from over the weekend. We felt to keep it on that side of the field for so long was pretty impressive. We knew Volunteer was fresh and we told the girls we were going to have their energy from the get go.”
The aggressive early approach paid off in the sixth minute. Annemarie Konieczny took possession and took two touches to get to the top of the 18-yard box where she launched a shot from the right side and curled it inside the right post. Keeper Elana Horne got her hand on the shot but carried it across the post.
One minute later Anna Shaw charged up the middle of the formation and slipped a pass to Tanna Bookhamer. Bookhamer worked to the left post and maneuvered around Horne to give Greeneville a 2-0 lead.
In the 13th minute Shaw set up another goal by making a run up the right side. She worked down the end line and lobbed a pass across to Kendyl Foshie on the back post where she rocketed a shot into the back of the net.
After that point Greeneville started working in its bench and moving players around the formation to see how different combinations played together.
“Coming back from the tournament we are looking to get some girls some game experience and I think building them up now can big down the road,” Graham said. “You hate that injuries put us in this situation, but ultimately down the road it will help the girls we have out there. These girls are gaining confidence, and I think it helps to intermix the squad and getting different girls playing with each other.”
The Lady Devils’ lead grew to 4-0 in the 21st minute. Abi Kate Moore sent a cross into the box from the right wing and Bookhamer came charging in to knock it into the back of the net from the top of the six-yard box.
In the 26th minute Molly Hartman, who started the game playing the back line, took possession from the Lady Falcons 15 yards from the frame and quickly turned and fired it past Horne.
Abigail Adkins came off the bench to stretch the Lady Devils’ lead to 6-0 before halftime. She took possession at the top of the 18-yard box and sent a shot across the frame. A Volunteer defender was able to get a foot on the shot but could not slow it down enough to stop the ball from making it inside the right post.
Greeneville’s bench kept the attack up in the second half and in the 50th minute they extended the lead to 7-0. Matea Gray sent the first shot at the frame but it was turned away. Rebecca Hutson charged to the ball and tapped it back in for the goal.
In the 66th minute Volunteer got on the board when Bre Dykes knocked in a cross from Sara Winegar.
In the 72nd minute Gray beat the keeper from 15 yards and Adkins completed the scoring in the 79th minute when she used some fancy footwork to dribble through the Lady Falcons before earning her second goal of the night.
