Physical matchup goes to Wolfpack

The physical pace of Tuesday's soccer meeting between region rivals Greenbrier and Lakeside didn't end well for the Panthers.

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The physical pace of Tuesday's soccer meeting between region rivals Greenbrier and Lakeside didn't end well for the Panthers./p>

To those in the stands, it looked as though Greenbrier's winning goal resulted from a perfectly placed pass off a free kick and a solid header.

That was only half the case, Heider said.

"It kind of went off the side of her foot," Heider said of Alex Cohen's attempted shot. "And Mary Kate (Lollar) was where she needed to be and headed it in. It worked out."

The goal came at the 15:19 mark of the second half, after a Lakeside defender was called for shoving Cohen to the ground.

The penalty set up Greenbrier nicely just outside the box, but a wall of Lakeside defenders stood in Cohen's path. The shot ricocheted to the left, where Lollar waited to rocket the header into the net.

The No 9 Wolfpack avoided its first loss to the Panthers since 2006, and the win gave the team the early edge in Region 3-AAAA.

The game was a rematch of the 2007 region final, which Greenbrier also won.

"I think this puts us in good position," Greenbrier junior Ashley Henry said. "We're aiming for region -- to take it."

Henry scored 12 minutes into the game off a long assist from Hillary Wilson. After that, Lakeside keeper Diana Tran got stingy and aggressively chased down balls that appeared out of range.

Panthers midfielder Stephanie Allen evened the match midway through the second half when her straightaway free kick from 30 yards out snuck through Greenbrier's line and past Wolfpack keeper Kristen Wyckoff.

Panthers coach Chris Newman, though his team lost to the Wolfpack for the fifth consecutive time, was encouraged by its effort.

"I'm still positive," he said. "We've done very well thus far."

The penalty leading to the winning goal wasn't the first in what was a physical match on a rain-soaked field.

Greenbrier junior Jessica Lewis was sent off in the second half after a second yellow card.

Henry injured her knee after a violent collision.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, the last penalty cost them.

"That's how it goes -- playing rough and get a penalty in the back," Newman said. "It's pretty tough."