FAIRLEA- The Greenbrier East Spartans boys’ and girls’ soccer teams will open state tournament play this Thursday, November 6 at the Paul Cline Complex in Beckley.
The (2) Lady Spartans will play at noon against (3) Nitro in a contest destined to deliver some memorable performances. Freshman and Greenbrier West transfer Lyla Brown leads the 19-2-1 Spartans with 28 goals this season and junior Ava Workman has scored 24 and has a team-leading 14 assists. Kennedy Stewart is second on the team in assists with 10 and Kiana McClung, another key piece for the Spartans, has eight goals and eight assists.
Avery Thompson, a second team all-state pick last season, leads an East defense that has allowed just 12 goals all season. Freshman keeper Adeline Vickers also plays a big role there.
The Wildcats (15-4-2) have also allowed just 12 goals all year so who strikes first could go a long way in the outcome in this one. Sophie Lawson leads the team in goals (13) and assists (13), and Bayleigh Elkins has 10 goals and 10 assists.
The (3) Spartan boys will play later that evening at 7:00 PM against (2) Bridgeport who they played back on August 30 and lost 2-0. However, since then, the Indians are down their best player and will look a little different this time around.
“I’m confident in this team,” coach Lucas Lemine said over the weekend.
“I was honestly expecting some let down in practice after the regional win. I gave them Thursday off, practiced Friday and Saturday. Friday was a good practice with tons of free play and Saturday’s training was great. High energy and effort,” he added.
Before the boys get to work for themselves, they will be cheerleaders for their counterparts, the Lady Spartans, in the afternoon.
We will go and support the girls Thursday and get back to take the bus over for our game to take care of business. We have developed the moniker “Jobs not done”. The kids are believing it and believing in themselves,” Lemine finished.
Fans are encouraged to line the roads around 9:45 AM on Thursday morning to cheer the teams on as they head to the interstate.
