Gallery by Heather Belcher
Greenbrier East girls soccer head coach Mike Dotson knew taking down regional stalwart George Washington was going to be a tough task.
Unfortunately for the Spartans, they could never get the lead on the Patriots in the Class AAA Region 3 showdown at Paul Cline Stadium Tuesday night.
After playing an even first half, George Washington scored early in the second half and held on for a 2-1 lead.
“It was a really good game and both teams really fought it out to the last second. It was unfortunate that someone got knocked out, but I was very proud of our girls,” veteran GW head coach Ali Sadeghian said. “They put up a good effort for the entire game. Thankfully it worked out on our behalf.”
George Washington quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute when Ella Tice scored on a header off of a corner kick.
Greenbrier East stopped the Patriots’ momentum in its tracks when Emma Dotson immediately scored on a deep blast to tie the match at 1-1.
“We talked about that and we knew their strength. That is something that would should have marked up, but defensively, we didn’t clear the ball very well and they took advantage of it,” Sadeghian said. We talked about it and corrected it, so that would not happen again in the second half.”
Neither team could score the remainder of the half, but the Patriots came out fast to open the final 40 minutes.
“We talked about what we needed to do better. We are a very good possession team and the first half we got a little bit panicked and we didn’t do well,” Sadeghian said. “The second half we just had to settle down and do the fundamental things that we do well. They did a better job of possessing the ball and controlling the tempo of the game.”
George Washington once again hit a quick winner when Madison Rothwell found Shelby Tharp for a 2-1 lead just five minutes into the second half.
“In soccer it’s great to get that first goal and that was our plan,” Sadeghian said. “Go out, put the pressure on them and get a goal in the first 10 minutes. Then we can defend and control the pace of the game.”
After answering the first goal immediately, the Spartans could never find the equalizer in the second half.
“I thought going into the game we had a 50-50 chance. Once we settle in after that goal to make it 1-1, I thought we might make some plays,” Dotson said. “They sped us up, so give them credit. They played really hard. I thought for a bit we might get a bounce our way, but we just couldn’t.”
Dotson was also hoping for the reverse scenario to start the second half.
I think if we could have got the lead, we would have settle in a little more and we could battle,” Dotson said. “When they got the lead, we got a little frantic for a little while. They got the lead and they held it. We had some shots and we had some chances, but the ball didn’t bounce our way today.”
George Washington was awarded the No. 4 seed in the state soccer tournament which will place them against two-time defending state champion Morgantown which is the No. 1 seed. That match is set for Thursday, Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. also on Paul Cline Stadium.
