Greenbrier avoids repeat of Evans' soccer upset

Visions of an upset win once again danced in the heads of the Evans boys soccer team. A win over region rival Greenbrier last Friday would have been a dream come true.

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For the Wolfpack, it was a nightmare they hoped to keep from reoccurring.

"We didn't want a repeat from last year," Greenbrier senior Will Dunaway said. "Frustration. That's the thing I remember the most."

Dunaway was part of last season's Greenbrier squad that went into the annual rivalry game with Evans and came away with their first loss of the season. Evans upset Greenbrier in an overtime shootout.

"We talked about it at practice a little. We had to get the freshmen up because they weren't here last year," Greenbrier senior Brooks Duff said.

This year, the Wolfpack made sure it didn't come down to a final shootout again, winning 3-0. Duff led the charge with a pair of awe-inducing goals late in the first half to break a 0-0 tie.

The first score came on a pass from teammate Bobby Zimmerman. The second goal, scored on a one-timer from just outside the top of the penalty box, rocketed into the top right corner of the net on a pass from junior Pieter James.

"Those two goals Duff had in the first half were as pretty as you're going to see, but they're not his prettiest this year," Warren said.

Several Greenbrier boys have scored with flair this season. Dunaway and Zimmerman each found the back of the net in the second half. When senior Chandler Swain scored with less than two minutes to play in the game, it was the ninth different Wolfpack player to score a goal this season.

"It's good to know that anyone on our team can finish when we need them to," Duff said.

The win improved Greenbrier's record to 7-1-0 overall and put Greenbrier in a comfortable position atop the Region 3B-AAAA standings.

Climbing the ladder

Lakeside's boys team inched further up the region standings with a key win over Richmond Academy on Friday. The Panther defense rendered Musketeer star Luigi Clendening ineffective with Lakeside's Santiago Aragque and Rosbie Mutcherson marking him most of the night. Panther goalkeeper Michael Combs made six saves on the night while senior Blake Brandenburg came through with the game's only goal. The score found the back of the net with 15:16 remaining in the first half.

Queens of the pitch

Greenbrier's girls remained undefeated in region play with a 4-1 win over Evans on Friday. The Lady Wolfpack trailed 1-0 in the first half thanks to a goal from Lady Knight forward Tarah Henderson. However, Greenbrier tied the game less than two minutes later on a goal from Brittany Borrar. Greenbrier's Jessica Lewis, Alex Cohen and Keri Wright all scored goals in the second half to improve the team's record to 6-2 overall.

Another region win

Lakeside's girls picked up an easy region win on Friday in a 7-0 blowout over Richmond Academy. Stephanie Allen and Anne Randall Hatcher scored two goals each while Brianna Lowerie, Renee Reddington and Chelsea Bates also scored.

Weekend shutouts

Augusta Prep's annual Blue and Gold Cup kicked off last weekend with three Lady Cavalier wins. The home team shutout Heritage Academy 4-0 on Friday, then blew out Greenwood Christian 9-0 and beat Central Fellowship 2-0 on Saturday. Senior Mary Beth Horton led all scoring over the weekend with five goals in three games.