Greenfield-Central’s Bryce Kinnaman, right, scored eight goals last season.
Rob Baker | For The Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD —The Greenfield-Central Cougars boys soccer team was patient on Thursday night. At least for a while.
It paid off.
With eight minutes left in the first half against visiting Yorktown, Cougars senior forward Bryce Kinnaman found the ball in the box and headed it up and over Tigers keeper Carter Fauquher for the opening goal and a 1-0 halftime lead.
The Cougars took that late-half momentum and ran away with it, topping the Tigers, 5-0, and getting some revenge from a 4-3 loss last year.
“We didn’t forget that loss,” Greenfield-Central assistant coach Matt McConnell said. “Every kid on this team remembered that loss, and every kid on this team was really intent on that not happening again no matter what.”
Getting on the board once wasn’t enough. The Cougars (3-2-1, 1-0 HHC) wanted more. They wanted some breathing room.
“It was just more motivation,” Kinnaman said of his first-half goal. “We dominated the first half, but we just needed to shoot more. Even though we control, we don’t want to make some silly mistake and it’s 1-1 all of a sudden. We really came out together as a team (in the second half), established our defense, to midfield, to attacking.”
The Cougars were relentless in the second half. The Tigers (3-1, 1-1) defense couldn’t sustain against the pressure for long.
Greenfield-Central was rewarded less than five minutes into the half, when Drew Davidson found Ethan Hollis in the box, and Hollis gained control and blasted it into the back of the net.
The goals kept coming.
The hosts extended the lead not even a minute later, with Hunter Stine getting on the board and pushing the lead to 3-0.
Dalton Evanoff scored twice in quick succession just over 10 minutes later, off assists from Kinnaman and Garrett Hollis, extending the Cougars’ lead to 5-0.
It was an important way to rebound for the team, who was fresh off a 3-0 loss against Carmel.
“Our front of our schedule has been packed with really high competition,” McConnell said. “We’ve honestly struggled in the offensive end. It was really great to see our boys respond to that well, especially in the second half.”
The stakes were high in what could turn out to be a key Hoosier Heritage Conference contest. The Cougars weren’t about to let the opportunity pass them by, and they made sure to start conference play off 1-0.
The two teams were part of a four-way tie for the HHC crown last year, with 5-2 conference records matching New Palestine and Pendleton Heights.
Every win could be crucial, given how last year turned out. And the Cougars didn’t just get the win – they got to keep possession of the Victory Bell, the HHC’s traveling trophy, too, thanks to stout defense and a nonstop attack.
“I can’t say enough good about our defense,” McConnell said. “We feel like our defense has been the rock of this team. They’re workhorses, and they’re playing well. We pride ourselves on shutouts, so to get another shutout is a big deal.”
The Cougars are next in action Saturday, when they host Westfield at 3:30 p.m.
