FAIRLEA- In front of a good crowd on a slightly cool night in Fairlea, the Greenbrier East Lady Spartans defeated the Oak Hill Lady Red Devils 2-1 and won the Region 3, Section 2 championship on Thursday, Oct. 24.
After a shutout victory of 3-0 over Woodrow Wilson on Tuesday, the Red Devils came to Spartan Field with momentum and confidence on their side. Of course, the same could be said for the Spartans following their 10-0 shellacking of Riverside on that same night.
And it was Greenbrier East who kept the momentum going.
“Oak hill has been a battle for the past few seasons,” East coach Mike Dotson said.
Caroline Dotson got East on the board with 30:55 left in the first half when she kicked in a long goal for a 1-0 Spartan lead.
That 1-0 score stayed the same at halftime.
Oak Hill tied the game at 1-1 with 23:09 left in the contest when several players got bunched together right at the net, but it eventually was kicked through by Tayler Sizemore off a corner kick behind the Spartans Grace Boettner.
Then, with under 11 minutes to go, Dotson forced a turnover and headed downfield where she slipped a beautiful pass through several Oak Hill defenders to Ava Workman. Workman gathered herself and kicked the ball through the net from the left side for a 2-1 East advantage.
And that would be the winning goal of the night.
“Keeping momentum for us is to keep a consistent schedule and routine. We want the girls to believe this is the next step to the big prize. Don’t let a moment get bigger than it should,” Dotson said when asked about preparing for the regionals next week.
Dotson also believes the experience his team has, especially the seniors, will help tremendously.
“Playing in regionals last year helps. The team knows what it is like to play in a game like this. I will also lean on my captains Caroline and Ryan. They are the leaders, and I expect them to have the team ready,” he concluded.
East will meet George Washington this Tuesday night, Oct. 29 at Paul Cline Stadium in Beckley. Gametime will be around 7:00 PM and will follow the boys’ game which begins at 5:00 PM.
