Varsity Soccer Update

Current record: 7-4-2 (overall) 6-2-1 (conference)

Monday @ Clayton

After a 2-2 tie the last time these two teams met, both teams wanted to settle the score and figure out who really was the better team. With four of Garner's players showing up late to the game due to the school sponsored Asheboro retreat, three JV players were given the opportunity to showcase their abilities at the varsity level.

The game started out sloppy on both sides with neither team truly controlling possession. Neither team had a great scoring opportunity until midway through the first half when Micaela Kymer took a free kick from the left side of the field about 25 yards out.

The goalkeeper for Clayton positioned herself for a cross, but Kymer played the shot. Her shot hit the crossbar and went straight down, barely crossing over the end line for the first goal of the game. Nearly scoring on two previous corner kicks, Clayton finally found the back of the net after Garner failed to mark up on the third corner kick of the game. The goal came with two minutes left in the half.

Second half play was filled with excitement as both teams started feeling more comfortable with the ball. Clayton was the first to capitalize on a free kick from about 35 yards out when Garner's goalkeeper Francheska Keke misjudged the shot.

Clayton kept the 2-1 lead for about ten minutes until Kymer replayed her goal of the first half and chipped the goalkeeper of Clayton to tie the game at two.

The eerie feeling of finishing in a tie was looming, but Garner started to step up its game. Amber Eberhard took the ball down the left side, crossed her defender over, and forced her defender to commit a foul just outside the penalty box and about three yards from the end line. Gabi Dugal played the ball perfectly to the far post where a determined Michelle Roth got higher than everyone else to get the lead changing header.

The foul committed by Clayton was the second yellow card for the Clayton player, causing her to be red carded and ejected from the game. Clayton had to play the last five minutes down a player because of the red card, and they also had to try to push forward to score a tying goal. This caused open space where Eberhard played a ball into Dugal for the game sealing goal.

The final score 4-2 in favor of the Trojans.

Wednesday vs. Knightdale

The battle for second in conference was set with Knightdale coming into the game riding a five game winning streak and an 8-2 record in conference play.

The Knights started off strong scoring off a long ball over the top of Garner's fullbacks. Elizabeth Pittman played excellent in goal for the first half, but there was nothing she could do to stop the breakaway.

First half play was up and down for Garner. Garner dominated play for moments, but could not find the back of the net. Midway through the first half, already down 1-0, Garner gave away a penalty kick. Knightdale's forward hit the side post, and Garner escaped the half only down by one.

Garner made adjustments in the second half to eliminate the long pass from Knightdale's fullbacks to their forwards, and it proved beneficial. Knightdale's opportunities were limited in the second half, except when goal keeper Francheska Keke grabbed the ball outside of the penalty box allowing for a free kick from 19-yards away. The shot ricocheted off a Garner player, and Garner cleared the ball away from danger.

Midway through the second half Garner earned themselves a corner, and took full advantage. Dugal played the ball to the far post where Kymer put a head on it to tie the game. With about 10 minutes left in the game, Garner earned another corner, with a similar result. After three Garner shots bounced around off defenders, it was Kymer who once again came up with the game changing goal.

With Garner up 2-1 at this point, Knightdale started pressing. After a quick transition from defense to offense, Knightdale returned the favor of a free kick when their goalie made the same mistake of grabbing the ball outside of the box. Dugal took full advantage of the close range and prime spotting. Her laser shot echoed off the back post and Garner sealed the victory 3-1.