Signal Mountain saw their impressive season come to an end Thursday as they fell to Greeneville 3-0 in the DI-AA state tournament.
Signal came into the match riding the emotional high of its round one victory, a 4-3 thriller against Hume-Fogg. Hoping to recapture some of the magic from the day before, the Eagles began on the front foot.
Greeneville refused to be rattled, staying compact defensively as the Greene Devils fended off every attacking move the Eagles threw at them.
Both teams were clearly reeling from their round one forms as the sun beat down on the Baylor soccer complex. The game soon turned into a slug fest with each team looking more committed to keeping the ball out of its own net rather than putting together anything tangible in attack.
One exception was the play of forward Ava Duffey. This should come as no surprise, since Duffey served as the reference point for the Eagles going forward all season. This game was no different as Duffey found herself on the ball and driving at the Greeneville backline frequently.
The Greene Devils responded with an exceptional performance of their own coming in the form of senior forward Anna Shaw. If Duffey exemplified gracefulness as she glided across the field, Shaw was the opposite—forcefully pushing forward with her speed and direct play. The Eagles hoped Duffey would be catalyst that gave their team the advantage, but Greeneville came out on top.
The Greene Devils bagged their first goal in the 31st minute when Shaw received the ball in transition. Signal mountain was out of position leading to Shaw only needing to beat one man, which she did with ease, before finding the back of the net and breaking the deadlock.
Energizing the Eagles, it was as if the game took on a new life for the remainder of the half as both teams pushed forward in an end-to-end 10-minute spell. It was during this time that Signal had its best chance of finding an equalizer. With just 13 seconds left, Duffey played Caroline Usrey in on goal, but goalie Lily Evatt parried it wide to preserve her clean sheet.
After the break, the game resumed its high intensity, low energy display it had taken on in the first half.
The Eagles, desperate for an equalizer, tried to get the ball at the feet of Duffey as much as possible as she drifted around the front line looking for space to attack. Outside of a few freekicks—one of which nearly caught Evatt off her line—Signal never found a recipe for threating to claw back into the game.
Greeneville slammed the door shut to Signal Mountains state championship hopes in the final 20 minutes on the back of two brilliant moments for Shaw.
The first was a soul snatching run in which Shaw weaved through the backline of the Eagles before playing an incisive pass through to Gabi Stayton, who left no doubt with her finish.
The second Shaw finished herself, again using her speed to beat her marker before rolling it just inside the back post for her brace.
Signal was defeated, and for the remaining 10 minutes, the Eagles pushed for a consolation —Duffey leaving nothing on the field—but were unable and perhaps unlucky in their attempts to do so.
After the game, coach Richard Northcutt admitted they didn’t play their best. “We had a very emotional day yesterday” Northcutt said, “and it’s really hard to come back and bounce back with the high emotion two days in a row”.
Even still, Northcutt applauded his team for playing better in the second half and said they will look to build on that as they return 10 of their 11 starters in what promises to be a good 2023/2024 season for the Lady Eagles.
Match Summary:
Signal Mountain 0 0 – 0
Greeneville 1 2 – 3
Goal Scorers:
Greeneville- Anna Shaw(2), Gabi Stayton