GATLINBURG – The Greeneville soccer team showed some strong stretches on Saturday afternoon, but ultimately it could not overcome its own miscues and fell to Briarcrest Christian of Memphis 5-1 in the Smoky Mountain Cup at Gatlinburg-Pittman.
“Honestly I’m pretty pleased with how we played for most of the game, but we had some really big breakdowns that really cost us,” Greeneville coach Jerry Graham said. “We had some flashes of brilliance and we looked really good as a team at times. When we are doing our job, playing as a team and being positive we look good. We just didn’t capitalize on the moments we got, and some bad moments really cost us.”
For Graham the focus when playing in tough tournaments against strong competition early in the year is seeing where the team needs to get better and working on those areas.
“There are some things we can fix from today. That’s why we come down here,” Graham said. “You hate for those mistakes to happen, but we come here to learn those lessons,” Graham said. “We like to come here to build some camaraderie and team chemistry. Of course we want to win every game, but we also need to learn how to play as a unit. If you don’t play teams that can break you down, you don’t learn and grow as a team.”
The Saints started the game attacking and kept the pressure on Greeneville’s backline for much of the first 20 minutes. They found the breakthrough goal in the 13th minute when Peyton Marbury lobbed a ball skyward that took a steep fall toward the turf in front of the frame. As it bounced back up Chandler Cross headed it in for a 1-0 advantage.
Briarcrest went in front 2-0 in the 34th minute when Cross ripped a shot from 30 yards outs and pinned it inside the post.
Over the second 20 minutes of the first half Greeneville did a better job of possessing the ball with Sam Gourley and Simon Holt controlling the midfield while Cole Wilcox and Cristain Banegas pushed the ball forward.
Briarcrest still managed to get going the other way in the 34th minute and George Lundy sent a cross to the far post where Luke Lundy tapped it for a 3-0 lead.
In the 39th minute Greeneville found the back of the net when Holt made a tough solo run up the right side. As he worked into the box the Saints knocked the ball loose, but it found the feet of Wilcox who was trailing the play. He hammered it home from 12 yards to close the gap to 3-1.
Through the early portion of the second half possession went back and forth had both teams had scoring chances, but Briarcrest was the first to take advantage first. A tackle in the box in the 59th minute gave Cross a penalty kick (that he may have stopped on) and he slipped it into the lower left corner of the frame.
The Saints got another set piece in the 68th minute and on a free kick from 20 yards out Grayson Baldridge sent a low screamer through the box and inside the left post for a 5-1 lead.
Over the final 20 minutes Greeneville had a few good scoring opportunities, but Holt, Benegas and Gourley could not get their shots past the keeper.
On Friday Greeneville opened the tournament with a 0-0 tie with Lenoir City. The Devils will play again on Sunday at 12:40 against Grace Christian on Franklin.
