GREENCASTLE — It took Greencastle-Antrim a little while to settle in and get a grip on its District 3 Class 3A first-round game.
But once the Blue Devils got on the scoreboard, they put a stranglehold on the game by scoring three more goals in a span of 4:41 and pinned a 4-0 defeat on Spring Grove at Kaley Field on Monday night.
Maddie Koons
Greencastle (15-3), the No. 5 seed, will play at No. 4 Red Land (14-5) on Thursday in a quarterfinal game at Cross Roads Middle School in Etters at 4 p.m.
“Once we started passing the ball well and moving the ball well, it all came together,” G-A senior Haley Noblit said.
And it came together in a tidal wave against the Rockets, who finished 9-8-1.
Noblit scored the first goal — the 110th of her career — when she deked past a pair of Spring Grove defenders and unleashed a left-footed shot into the net past goalkeeper Tori Kehm.
Right after the kickoff, the Blue Devils put together a string of five completed passes in a row to get the ball to the attack. Then Noblit sent a perfect diagonal pass through the defense that Maddie Koons ran onto and kicked into the net to make it 2-0.
Just four minutes later, Koons battled for a loose ball in the box and when two Rocket defender collided, it gave her room to tip the ball out of Kehm’s reach and then score on an open net.
The absolute clincher came 26 seconds later when Koons fed Brooke Guthrie with a perfect pass into the middle and Guthrie’s shot was true to make it 4-0.
G-A coach Chris Noblit said, “It’s like in basketball when your shots don’t go in — you just keep going. Shoot, shoot, shoot, and when the first one goes in, then the lid’s off. It was great to see.”
A little switch in the lineup made a difference with the Greencastle offense. Abbie Wolfe started her first game of the season at a forward position and she pestered Spring Grove and created chances several times from the right wing.
“It was my first game starting there,” Wolfe said. “But I like playing with Maddie and Haley up there. I thought we had a good game overall and the midfield and defense played strong. We just needed to find our game.”
Chris Noblit said, “I moved her up against Boiling Springs and she scored the only goal. So I thought, ‘Let’s try that again.’ She gives us another dangerous player up front.”
Haley Noblit said, “A lot of players on this team are able to switch positions, so it wasn’t a big thing to adjust.”
With the lead, the defense simply had to do its job. And it did. Spring Grove had only one shot on goal all night and three shots in total. The defense — Aubrey Smith, Natalie Hanks, Zhen Rueter and Shaina Overcash — played up and rarely ever let the Rockets possess the ball.
Now the road gets tougher with Red Land.
Coach Noblit said, “The girls will get fired up for Red Land. They know everybody thinks Red Land will beat us, and they are really good. But we’ll have all hands on deck.”
Greencastle-Antrim 4, Spring Grove 0
Spring Grove 0 0 — 0
Greencastle 4 0 — 4
First Half
GA — Haley Noblit, unassisted, 9:55
GA — Maddie Koons, asst. Noblit, 9:18
GA — Koons, asst. Noblit, 5:40
GA — Brooke Guthrie, asst. Koons, 5:14
Shots — SG 3; GA 26. Shots on goal — SG 1; GA 12. Corner kicks — SG 1; GA 5. Saves — SG 8 (Tori Kehm); GA 1 (Lexi Nelson). Fouls — SG 3; GA 1. Offsides — SG 0; GA 1.