Error ends 'Pack's fine season

Greenbrier boys soccer coach Chip Warren summed up perfectly the Wolfpack's 1-0 loss to Chamblee in the Class AAAA state semifinals Tuesday night.

"We picked a bad night not to play well," Warren said.

The loss was one of only two in Greenbrier's 22-game season and came in a way that was hard for the Wolfpack to take. Late in the first half of Tuesday's game, a Greenbrier defender knocked the ball into his own net in a botched attempt at a kick-save. The score was the only goal of the night and ended Greenbrier's season.

"I take nothing away from them. They played a great game, but we put the ball in the net for them," Warren said.

Despite the loss, the Wolfpack still enjoyed one of the best soccer seasons in county history. The Wolfpack spent much of the last half of the season rankedNo. 1 in the state in AAAA, and a ranking released by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America before Tuesday's game listed the Wolfpack as the No. 8 team in the nation.

Through the season, Greenbrier outscored its opponents 110-13 and tallied 13 shutouts in 20 wins.

"They're a great team. They came really strong tonight in the last 20 minutes," Chamblee coach Uwe Neuhaus said of Greenbrier. "We knew they beat Woodward (AAAA No. 7) and St. Pius (AAAA No. 2), so we knew what they were capable of."

Nine Wolfpack seniors saw their season come to an end: Charlie Kupar, William James, Jared Clark, Rusty Allen, Jason Purucker, Luke Gibb, Andrew Choi, Jonathan Shackelford and Jason Caraway.

Warren said those nine seniors were the glue that held the team together.