Story and photos by Tara Hefferan Newaygo Girls Soccer took to the road Friday night, battling to a 2-2 tie against the Greenville Yellow Jackets. Following a disappointing conference loss just two days prior, Newaygo made some minor adjustments in playing formation against the Jackets. This, along with better teamwork, greater confidence, more urgency in play, gave the Lions a boost in performance, resulting in a highly competitive match. The playing conditions on Friday were rough, as high winds tore through the stadium. The Yellow Jackets started with the wind advantage, working the ball in the direction of the gusts. Their efforts paid off midway through the first half, when Greenville got by Lion Keeper Ella Soules. The Jackets took a 1-0 lead. It appeared that Newaygo’s Lena Wagner answered within minutes, sprinting to meet a through ball sent past Greenville’s defensive line by Landry Hefferan Nordlund. Wagner fired a shot into the left corner of the Jacket’s net. The goal did not stand, however, as it was called for offside. The Lions entered halftime down 0-1, having just one shot on goal versus the Jacket’s six. Retaking the field now with the wind advantage, the Lions wasted little time getting on the board. Hefferan Nordlund dribbled up the right side of the field, sending a perfectly placed cross into the box, where Captain Aby Lauryssens was waiting to pounce. Lauryssens muscled the ball past the Greenville keeper, to bring the Lions level at 1-1. “It felt really amazing, considering the last time I scored, it was my freshman year,” said senior Lauryssens about the goal, adding “I feel like it was a great thing.” Then twelve minutes into the second half, the Lions scored once more. Hefferan Nordlund assisted again, this time sending the ball to Luella Hilden. Hilden struck the ball into the top of the net, where it slipped through the keeper’s hands, putting the Lions in the lead for the first time this season. “I just knew I did not want to lose,” said Hilden. “I did it more for the team than for myself. I want to turn our scores around for the season.” Hilden’s efforts put the Lions ahead 2-1, with twenty-eight minutes of play left. The match remained competitive, with the Lions largely maintaining possession. Then, with eight minutes remaining, the Lions were called for a defensive foul, setting up the Yellow Jackets for a penalty kick. With arms stretched wide, freshman and first-season goalie Soules made herself big. Soules faced the Greenville player with confidence, skillfully stopping the shot and then immediately catching the rebound to deny the goal. As the Newaygo crowd and players erupted into thunderous approval of the difficult saves, the officials charged Soules with moving off her line before the shot was taken. They awarded a second penalty kick, which this time Greenville was able to slot away. This brought the Lions and Yellow Jackets even at 2-2. Eager for their first victory, the Lions redoubled their efforts, threatening Greenville’s offensive space several times. The best opportunity to regain the lead came with just two minutes remaining, when Lauryssens advanced the ball into the box. Readying the shot, Lauryssens was dispossessed from behind, falling in pain just feet from goal. In the end, the Lions were unable to find the final goal needed to secure the win, rounding out the match in a 2-2 tie. In total, keeper Soules made six saves, not counting the disallowed penalty save, all in the first half. Aside from the penalty kicks, Greenville had no other shots against Newaygo in the second half. This is largely due to the efforts of Newaygo’s defensive line, led by Captain Natalie Richardson and Valeria Torres, who worked well with the midfield, led by Rachel Larsen and Wagner, to move the ball away from danger. From Head Coach Matt Painter: “Coming off our last game, where we did not play as a team as well as we would have liked, we were hoping for some improvements tonight. We have girls learning new positions, and it will take time for them to get used to this. Overall, I was proud of how our girls came together throughout the game. As in most games, there were questionable calls and non-calls tonight that potentially impacted the outcome. That being said, we always say, ‘mean no offense, take no offense’ and just move on to the next play, or in this case, the next game!”
The Lions return to action next Wednesday, April 17, away at Tri-County. Newaygo’s record currently stands at 0-2-1 overall, and 0-1-0 in conference play.
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