Quinten Wilson’s bender in the third minute of extra time gave Evans a 3-2 win over Statesboro Thursday at the Recreation Activities Center on the campus of Georgia Southern.
Wilson brought in a loose ball at the top of the penalty box, then curled in the winner off his right boot to give EHS its first and only lead of the night.
“To be honest, what hurt us the most is having a two week layoff,” said SHS coach Chad Prosser. “We were definitely not fit — and it showed. There were times when we controlled the pace of play, but it started wearing on us and we weren’t able to hold them off.”
The Blue Devils (3-5, 0-3 Region 3-AAAA) last played on the last day of February at Greenbrier because of inclement weather. They surrendered two one-goal leads Thursday to an Evans team holding second place in the region.
Up 2-1 in the second half, an Evans free kick landed right at the foot of Robert Payne who tomahawked it to the ground, then watched it float over the head of SHS keeper Matt Campbell.
Statesboro never seemed to recover from Evans’ second comeback — a running theme for SHS so far this season.
“This would be the time that we should be peeking,” said Prosser. “But because (of the layoff) we haven’t been able to do that. Another factor is we have is a good group of seniors, but none of them are necessarily ‘the guy’. We’ve always had a guy to look to and right now we’re still developing and looking for that guy.”
The Devils struck first in the 30th minute when Lindsey Martin calmly put in a misplayed ball by Evans keeper Jeff Dumond.
But the Knights countered in the 37th minute on a Jonathan Weatherbee header off a cross which fell off Matt Campbell’s fingertips — the SHS keeper.
Statesboro took the lead once again in the 58th minute. David Ball sailed a corner into the box where Graden Bozeman headed it into the top left corner of the net.
The lead lasted 12 minutes.
Campbell had 11 saves for SHS.
Lady Knights 2, Lady Blue Devils 0
Emily Belchyk scored two goals for the Lady Knights of Evans in a 2-0 win over Statesboro at the RAC Thursday.
Despite the final tally, the match was far closer than the score would indicate. Statesboro (0-6-2, 0-3 Region 3-AAAA) controlled most of the possession — they just couldn’t get a clean look on goal.
“They just came in with more purpose and more focus today and were ready to play,” said Statesboro coach Andrew Hansen of his team’s performance. “They made that commitment to the game today that they wanted to win it. Really, it should have been a 0-0 game. I think we gifted them two goals.”
Statesboro’s back line of defense, Jessie Mooney, Kelly Harris, Dianna Moore and Ukachi Ugorgi, were tough to break all night. Belchyk’s first goal came just four minutes in when she put in a cross from Alyx Shultz on an Evans counterattack.
The Lady Devil offense, led by the speedy Claire Randall, was in full attack mode after that. The correct cross, through ball or shot just never came.
Belchyk then scored in the 73rd minute on a breakaway, slipping one through keeper Whitney Lucas’ legs.
SHS had a chance to tie in the 66th minute, but a Randall shot went just wide.
Harris had a chance of her own one minute later, but the ball trickled just to the right of the pole.
Statesboro hosts Lakeside on Monday at Mill Creek Park. The boys will play at 5 p.m. with the girls to follow.
Wilson brought in a loose ball at the top of the penalty box, then curled in the winner off his right boot to give EHS its first and only lead of the night.
“To be honest, what hurt us the most is having a two week layoff,” said SHS coach Chad Prosser. “We were definitely not fit — and it showed. There were times when we controlled the pace of play, but it started wearing on us and we weren’t able to hold them off.”
The Blue Devils (3-5, 0-3 Region 3-AAAA) last played on the last day of February at Greenbrier because of inclement weather. They surrendered two one-goal leads Thursday to an Evans team holding second place in the region.
Up 2-1 in the second half, an Evans free kick landed right at the foot of Robert Payne who tomahawked it to the ground, then watched it float over the head of SHS keeper Matt Campbell.
Statesboro never seemed to recover from Evans’ second comeback — a running theme for SHS so far this season.
“This would be the time that we should be peeking,” said Prosser. “But because (of the layoff) we haven’t been able to do that. Another factor is we have is a good group of seniors, but none of them are necessarily ‘the guy’. We’ve always had a guy to look to and right now we’re still developing and looking for that guy.”
The Devils struck first in the 30th minute when Lindsey Martin calmly put in a misplayed ball by Evans keeper Jeff Dumond.
But the Knights countered in the 37th minute on a Jonathan Weatherbee header off a cross which fell off Matt Campbell’s fingertips — the SHS keeper.
Statesboro took the lead once again in the 58th minute. David Ball sailed a corner into the box where Graden Bozeman headed it into the top left corner of the net.
The lead lasted 12 minutes.
Campbell had 11 saves for SHS.
Lady Knights 2, Lady Blue Devils 0
Emily Belchyk scored two goals for the Lady Knights of Evans in a 2-0 win over Statesboro at the RAC Thursday.
Despite the final tally, the match was far closer than the score would indicate. Statesboro (0-6-2, 0-3 Region 3-AAAA) controlled most of the possession — they just couldn’t get a clean look on goal.
“They just came in with more purpose and more focus today and were ready to play,” said Statesboro coach Andrew Hansen of his team’s performance. “They made that commitment to the game today that they wanted to win it. Really, it should have been a 0-0 game. I think we gifted them two goals.”
Statesboro’s back line of defense, Jessie Mooney, Kelly Harris, Dianna Moore and Ukachi Ugorgi, were tough to break all night. Belchyk’s first goal came just four minutes in when she put in a cross from Alyx Shultz on an Evans counterattack.
The Lady Devil offense, led by the speedy Claire Randall, was in full attack mode after that. The correct cross, through ball or shot just never came.
Belchyk then scored in the 73rd minute on a breakaway, slipping one through keeper Whitney Lucas’ legs.
SHS had a chance to tie in the 66th minute, but a Randall shot went just wide.
Harris had a chance of her own one minute later, but the ball trickled just to the right of the pole.
Statesboro hosts Lakeside on Monday at Mill Creek Park. The boys will play at 5 p.m. with the girls to follow.
