After enduring a tough weekend in Knoxville losing three-straight to high-quality opponents, the Greeneville soccer team got back on track with an 8-0 pounding of Volunteer to take the top spot in the District 2-AA standings.
“We knew it was a big game coming in. I was really proud of the defensive effort too tonight to go with the shutout and leave Lily (Evatt) with the clean sheet. We had several girls back there playing on that back line. We were really proud of those girls keeping the shutout. This was a big win especially for the conference standings,” Greeneville Coach Jerry Graham stated.
Heading into Tuesday’s matchup Volunteer held the top spot with a 3-0 record, but it didn’t take long for Greeneville to let it be known who still wears the crown. After back-to-back dominant wins over district opponents Cherokee and Claiborne, the Lady Falcons were looking to prove themselves as a much better team than years past with a road win over Greeneville.
But once Greeneville’s starting unit stepped onto the field halfway through the first half, things went south quickly for the visitors.
Abby Adkins delivered an incredible four-goal game that included a trio of goals only three minutes apart to secure a hat trick and lead the Lady Devils in scoring. Vivian Kammerdiener etched her name into the scorer’s book twice with a pair of goals and claimed an assist to go with them.
Greeneville was firing away from all sides of the field and delivered 26 shot attempts with 16 on goal. Volunteer was held to zero shot attempts at the half and only mustered three attempts in the second half. Two of those landed on goal and were credited as Lily Evatt’s only two saves.
Kammerdiener began the night with the first goal in the 10th minute. Vivian finished a 1-on-1 breakaway by juking out the keeper and was able to easily poke the ball into the netting. The next goal was provided by Angelyn Diaz with an assist from Kammerdiener in the 21st minute. A quick punch from six yards out slid past the keeper and reached the net.
“Viv was a hard worker. She worked really hard up there to create some opportunities,” Graham said.
Abby Adkins entered the game after the second goal and wreaked havoc every time the ball landed at her feet. She secured a goal in the 27th, 28th, and 29th minutes for the easiest hat trick you may ever see. She waited seven more minutes before adding another goal to claim her fourth goal in a nine-minute span.
“The shots are so pretty. The shots and the placement where she has them. They are such well-driven shots. It’s fun to watch them go into the back of the net. She was just on tonight,” Coach Graham expressed.
Coach Graham’s decision to rest the starters was due to an overwhelming weekend and tough schedule ahead with a date at Bearden on Thursday. “We’re still dragging a little bit from the long weekend. Tried to limit some girl’s minutes tonight because we have to go back up to Knoxville to play Bearden Thursday,” he mentioned.
Greeneville led 6-0 at the half and came out with immediate second-half pressure. Abigail Weems crushed a one-timer from Marley VanBuskirk from atop the 18-yard box to continue the scoring frenzy in the 45th minute. Vivian Kammerdiener capped things off the way she started the game with another goal in the 46th minute.
The Lady Devils managed to score six of their eight goals within a 20-minute stretch on the field.
They rode the wave until the end and left Fox Field happy with an 8-0 victory. They improved to 5-3 (3-0) with the win. Volunteer drops to 3-4 (3-1).
Abby Adkins was the leading goal scorer with four. Vivian Kammerdiener had two while Angelyn Diaz and Abigail Weems scored one each.
Things don’t get any easier as Greeneville turns right around to face a tough Bearden team on the road on Thursday night.
“I think we needed tonight’s win. I think we needed a little bit of confidence. It’s nice for just the attitudes of the girls you can tell they were lifted a little bit after tonight,” Coach Graham mentioned. “We know the level of competition is going to be tough just like it was this past weekend, so the girls are going to have to step up.”
