GATLINBURG – Greeneville soccer coach Jerry Graham feels like his team got better over the weekend despite taking three losses at the Smoky Mountain Cup in Gatlinburg.
On Sunday the Lady Devils wrapped up the tournament with a 4-1 loss to St. Mary’s Episcopal School out of Memphis.
“I’m really proud of the girls,” Graham said. “We made a lot of fixable mistakes, and when we tried to fix them we saw better results. We are dealing injuries and have girls playing out of position, but they held their own. We have played some quality teams, and had some close outcomes. Obviously, we want to win, but I’m proud of the girls.”
The Lady Devils did take the lead first on Sunday after a few close calls on the other end of the field. In the 24th minute Matea Gray and Jordan Swatzell made a challenging run into the box that first resulted in a shot by Gray that was deflected away. The bounce found Vivian Kammerdiener on the right edge of the box and she curled a 20-yard shot inside the left post for a 1-0 lead.
“That play started with Jordan Swatzell putting us in position,” Graham said. “Vivian worked really hard to get in position and then drives through the ball to put it in the back of the net. We had some good team play to build to that point, and then some good individual hard work created that goal.”
Greeneville’s excitement was short lived as the Turkeys found the equalizer in the 27th minute. Charlotte Stakem received a long pass from the midfield and charged into the box from the left side where she beat keeper Lily Evatt one-on-one.
One minute later Savannah Miller got loose and ran away from Greeneville’s defense before pinning a shot into the upper left corner of the frame for a 2-1 St. Mary’s lead.
Prior to the two quick goals Greeneville had put Evatt in some challenging spots, but she managed to come up with a handful of remarkable saves. That started in the sixth minute by wrapping her mitts around a one-on-one shot from the middle of the box.
In the 19th minute she made a diving stop on a well-placed header that looked like a sure goal. Then in the 26th minute the Lady Devils let the ball linger in the box until the Turkeys found the shot they wanted, but Evatt dove to the feet of the shooter to prevent the goal.
Evatt finished the afternoon with 13 saves before leaving the game in the 65th minute.
“Lily is a senior and a big leader for our team,” Graham said. “Her being able to make those kinds of saves gives confidence to the whole team, and she did that all weekend.”
St. Mary’s went in front 3-1 in the 39th minute. Stakem maneuvered into the box from the right and drew the defense in before sending a low cross to Miller who sent a shot at the frame before Evatt could get turned around.
St. Mary’s found the back of the net again in the 65th minute. Evatt turned away the first shot attempt with a diving save but Izzy Boyd followed the spill and pounded it into the back of the net for a 4-1 lead.
Greeneville’s defense corrected some mistakes from the first half in the second half, and the Turkeys dangerous looks at the frame were greatly reduced, but the Lady Devils’ offense could not find its own looks to challenge the lead.
“We really focused on pressure and covering, we just needed to slow them down,” Graham said. “We didn’t need to do anything spectacular, we just had to make sure we had numbers behind the ball. I felt like we played more relaxed and composed in the second half. And it wasn’t just the back line, the midfield played an important part in slowing things down.”
On Friday Greeneville opened the tournament with a 2-1 loss to Martin Luther King Jr. On Saturday the Lady Devils fell to South Warren, Kentucky 4-3.
