Hunter Wilson/Daily News Greenwood's Riley Williams (right) jumps for a ball against Daviess County's Matt Alvey on Thursday at Drakes Creek Middle School.

advertisement

With the ball in the air and time running out Thursday, there might have been only one person who knew the game was over.

As soon as he made contact with the ball, Greenwood senior Riley Williams had no doubt his penalty kick in the 76th minute would find the net. He was right, and the kick pushed Greenwood to a 1-0 win over visiting Daviess County on Senior Night at Drakes Creek Middle School.

“Once I hit it, I knew it was going in,” Williams said. “Time was winding down, I knew we didn’t have too many more chances and I did what I had to do. There wasn’t any pressure. I knew what I had to do and I stepped up and did it.”

The Gators have had problems with Daviess County in recent years. The Panthers had beaten Greenwood the past two seasons, outscoring the Gators 7-2.

“This is the first time since I have been here that we have been able to beat Daviess County,” Greenwood coach Scott Gural said. “A break either way would have given either team the win, so it’s nice to be on the receiving end of one of those.”

The rivalry between the teams was apparent. Both teams played physically and were whistled for a combined four yellow cards.

Greenwood (8-5-3) received three of the yellow cards, forcing Gural to take the players out of the game to avoid the risk of red cards and one-game suspensions.

“It is pretty unusual for us,” Gural said. “I don’t think any were undeserved. I think that some of that was that emotions were so high and they were hustle fouls. Players were just going after it, trying to make a play. It happens.”

With 13 seniors on the Greenwood team, it was only fitting a senior got the opportunity for the game-winning penalty kick on Senior Night.

“I hadn’t had a goal all season,” Williams said. “And it happened on Senior Night. I have practiced these shots a lot and it went in. This is a competitive game every year, but this time we finished.”

The Gator seniors were honored with a ceremony prior to the contest. Alex Russell, Greg Foster, Stephen Pruitt, Greg Scholla, Ninel Zukanovic, Josh Settle, Franklin Serrano, Christian Croxton, Sean McCarney, Chris Hamlet, Andrew Walker, Eric Bowers and Riley made up one the biggest senior classes in Greenwood soccer history.

The experience of the upperclassman is an advantage Gural is glad to have.

“It is a luxury that a lot teams wish they had,” Gural said. “It presents some problems of its own trying to get 13 guys into the game, but at the same time it’s nice to have that much support for the program. The seniors have a lot invested and by the time they hit their senior year, they want what’s at the end of the rainbow.”

Both teams missed opportunities early. Greenwood had several chances to get goals in the first half, recording eight shots on goal.

Daviess County (8-6-2) had several blown chances as well. The Panthers only had four shots on goal in the first half, but each came close to finding the net.

“If they had executed what they had, they could have ran out of the park,” Gural said. “It’s part of high school soccer - sometimes you get them and sometimes you don’t.”