By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

GREENVILLE — The Greenville boys and girls team had their home openers on August 19 and 20. The Lady Wave got to open the Jennings Track and Field Complex to soccer with a home match against Celina on August 19.

Greenville lost a tough one as they fell 6-0 to Celina. Girls soccer head coach John Tabler said the effort was there for the whole game.

“Not too upset with where they’re at. They played a really good second half against an amazing Celina team. When we go up against them, we know it’s going to be a battle. For us, to give up only two goals in the second half, I was really happy with where the girls are at,” Tabler said.

Celina scored three goals in a stretch of eight minutes in the first half. Once the Lady Wave got through that stretch, they settled down and continued to bring the physicality. Tabler said they expect the team to be physical each game while they keep learning a bit more about the game.

After being down 0-4 in the first half, Greenville only allowed two goals in the second half both coming in the final 20 minutes. Greenville spent a lot of time in the defensive zone as they couldn’t find the right opportunities to push the ball up offensively.

The team then had to turn around and host Butler on August 20. The team came out with the same energy they did against Celina and battled the Lady Aviators.

In the last 20 minutes of the first half, Butler scored three goals to take a 3-0 lead. Greenville did get more chances offensively early in this game. Tabler said the team is still working on moving the ball up but they are offensively pushing the ball as often and best they can right now.

Butler came out firing in the second half as they scored two goals in the first two minutes of the seocnd half. The Lady Wave started to get tired as the game worn on.

Greenville continued to be as physical as they could be and started to spend more time in the offensive zone. They couldn’t keep up with Butler as they fell 9-0.

Junior goalkeeper Rachel Wright spent both games facing a plethora of shots. While some got by her, she was solid in net as she racked up double-digit saves in both games.

Tabler said Wright has been hanging in there with how many shots have already came her way in these first two games. It also shows how much she has improved as a player and a leader.

“She’s stepped up. She’s moved herself in positions where she’s being a little more aggressive going to get the ball. It’s really good. She’s getting better at communication with being able to get girls in the right place,” Tabler said.

After the girls game, the boys soccer team took on the Butler boys team for their first match at home. The team had their ups and downs throughout the game.

Butler scored goals in bunches to lead the whole game. At times, the Greenville defense stepped up to stop the Butler attack.

Senior Adam Edwards was in net and made some nice saves. The offense pushed the ball up the field at times with freshman Rylan Grosch and junior Jiji Jim getting the ball close to the net.

Boys soccer head coach Brad Feldner said the team is still a work in progress, but they are seeing daily improvement already this season.

“We’re still learning. We’ve added some players. We got a ways to go, but we’re seeing improvement on a daily basis. We’ll just keep working on it and go from there,” Feldner said.

The Green Wave was down 6-0 at halftime. They held Butler scoreless for the first few minutes of the second half.

Butler then got hot and scored another six goals in the last 26 minutes of the game and won 12-0. Greenville had their runs at the net, but couldn’t capitalize.

Both teams fall to 0-2 to start the season. The girls team will be back in action at home on August 24 as they host Indian Lake for a 1 p.m. start. The boys team will be at St. Marys on August 26 for a 6 p.m. start for their next match.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected].