Greene Central falls to South Central after leading at halftime
3 min read
By Laieke Abebe
WJGSPORTS Contributor
SNOW HILL — The Greene Central varsity boys soccer team’s halftime lead faded away as South Central remained unbeaten on Wednesday.
The Falcons (3-0-2) scored all three of their goals in the second half to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 win over Greene Central (1-1). Freshman forward Ryan Davis led South Central with a hat trick to help his team overcome a physical Rams squad.
“It was great to score three goals,” Davis said. “My teammates helped me out a lot and gave me a lot of scoring chances. If we keep fighting like we did the second half, I think we’ll be just fine.”
This match certainly wasn’t an easy one for the Falcons. Greene Central took the early lead when Rams senior Ulises Mora scored a on a left-footed strike seven minutes into the match. Freshman midfielder Ariel Nunez picked up the assist.
“The goal we got was the type of goals we want to get this year,” Rams head coach Matt Gnau said. “Our game is two or three touch passing and switching the point of attack. We stopped doing that in the second half and it got us off our game. Scott (Crass) did a great job of adjusting and applying pressure on us.”
South Central took control of the game after they conceded the goal. However, they weren’t able to find a breakthrough in the first half.
It also took them a little bit of time to find the net in the second half, but the possession and chances were all in favor of the Falcons. With 20 minutes left in the game, Ryan Davis won a penalty and converted to tie the game.
From there, the game shifted in South Central’s favor. Freshman midfielder David Calhoun found Davis again on a corner kick with 11 minutes left to take a lead, which they didn’t relinquish.
“We had to score first and we did,” Falcons head coach Scott Crass said. “Once we got that, we were able to get more chances and put them in. I’m so proud of the teams effort today. They could’ve folded after giving up the early goal and after playing on three straight days, but we fought hard to get the win.”
Just for insurance, a short goal kick was stolen by Davis in the Rams half of the field. He dribbled all the way down the field and finished with his right foot to complete his hat trick with seven minutes left.
Davis has scored eight goals in five games this season for the Falcons. South Central hosts West Craven next Tuesday while Greene Central is at home against North Pitt on Friday.
