GREENVILLE – A depleted Greenville girls soccer team lost 7-0 to Stebbins on Wednesday in the Lady Wave’s first game on the new artificial turf at Harmon Field.
Greenville, which started Wednesday’s home opener with just 11 players, was missing several girls because of Darke County Fair commitments, illness and vacation. Under the conditions, Coach Jason Arnold was proud of the heart the Lady Wave displayed.
“It was very tough with the numbers that we had, but I was pretty proud that they stood their own and they played with some heart tonight,” he said.
After 10 scoreless minutes of Greater Western Ohio Conference action, Stebbins took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Kate Johnson. Just over two minutes later Stebbins increased its lead to 2-0 with a goal by Kristine George.
With a little more than six minutes remaining in the opening half, Johnson recorded her second goal of the night to make it 3-0. Less than 90 seconds later Johnson scored her third goal of the game to put Stebbins up 4-0.
Greenville held Stebbins in check for the first 18 minutes of the second half, but then Brianna Otoski scored to increase the lead to 5-0.
Less than two minutes later Greenville took a big hit when senior captain Natalie House went down with an apparent knee injury.
“We’re not sure exactly what happened there as of yet,” Arnold said. “But, yeah, it’s an intimidating situation, but I’ve got to give credit to the girls not backing down and hanging in there and playing the game that they come to play and love.”
With just 10 healthy players, Greenville hung tough and kept Stebbins scoreless for the next nine minutes. But then Jackie Powers scored to make it 6-0, and with 90 seconds remaining Kennedie Lingg scored to give Stebbins a 7-0 victory.
While the end result wasn’t what Greenville had hoped for in its home opener, Arnold was glad to have the new artificial turf surface for the Lady Wave’s games.
“The field has been a definite positive for us,” he said. “It’s been a great addition to our toolbox because now we can play the game that we need to play versus trying to play the game and navigate the conditions of the field. Having this turf and everything is a constant, and it takes a lot of pressure off of us.”
Along with having no mud and offering a more level playing surface than Harmon Field’s former grass field, the new artificial turf also has been good for the health of Greenville’s players.
“We’ve come to find that the cushioning on this turf has been a lot better for the girls’ joints,” Arnold said. “My assistant coach (Samantha Grim) played the alumni game and said she’s always pretty beat up after that, and she was actually in pretty good condition after playing on this surface. The surface also is beneficial as far as the impact on our players.”
Greenville, which now is 0-2 on the season, will travel to Trotwood-Madison on Saturday. The Lady Wave’s next home game is at 6 p.m. Wednesday against West Carrollton.
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