GREENVILLE – The first 11 minutes of the second half were unkind to the Green Wave on Saturday as they saw their 1-0 lead turn into a 4-1 deficit.
In the Greenville boys soccer team’s season opener, the Green Wave allowed four goals in an eight-minute span to lose 4-1 to Newton.
“They had their moments,” Greenville boys soccer coach Brent DeVoss said about his team. “We’ve got some work to do as a coaching staff. Second half not where we wanted to be. Gave up four goals in seven minutes so we definitely have some work to do as a staff. Just some mental breakdowns with some missed kicks and gave them some breakaways.”
Newton controlled the ball for most of the game, including in the first half when it tripled Greenville’s shots on goal. But the Wave defense led by goalkeeper A.J. Frens held strong for the first 40 minutes of the game.
“The first half we gave away a lot of opportunities with cheap fouls and late fouls but we were able to keep that 1-0 lead through the half,” DeVoss said of the Green Wave defense.
The Greenville offense got its lone goal of the game with 14:53 left on the clock in the first half when freshman Ethan Saylor scored the first goal of the season off a header to give the Wave a 1-0 lead.
“Freshmen with good work ethic,” DeVoss said. “He works hard on every play. So he stepped into that role and went physical, followed it all the way through and ran it right into the back of the net just like he’s been coached.”
Less than three minutes into the start of the second half Newton tied the game with a goal by Nick Honeycutt to make it 1-1.
A little more than two minutes later Honeycutt scored again to give Newton its first lead of the game, 2-1.
Newton’s offensive onslaught continued as Seth Courtney scored less than five minutes later to increase Newton’s lead to 3-1.
And a little more than two minutes after that Honeycutt recorded his third goal of the day to give him a hat trick and Newton a 4-1 lead, which proved to be the final score.
“At least for half they held in there,” DeVoss said of his team’s defense. “Still a lot of mistakes but we’re going to get better. They’re going to keep working hard. It’s a senior group back there so they’ve just got to settle in. I think some nerves fell into play.”
Greenville’s varsity will return to action at 6 p.m. Tuesday when the Green Wave play host to Lehman Catholic.
“I’m looking forward to a great season,” DeVoss said. “We’ve got a great group. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but I think we’re up for the challenge.”
