Call it adding injury to insult.
Madison Southern not only halved a seemingly comfortable Great Crossing lead with six minutes remaining Monday night, but the Warhawks lost their starting goalkeeper on the play.
The predictable push from the Eagles put the Warhawks in grave danger of seeing a shutout turn into a frustrating draw in the blink of an eye, but GC’s defense quelled the storm and held on for a 2-1 win over an 11th Region rival to christen the girls’ soccer season.
“They just did what you’ve got to do,” Great Crossing coach Trevor Klein said. “You’ve got to dig deep. Everyone has to play their part.”
Peyton Maxwell and Kennedy Ward scored for Great Crossing.
They’re a sophomore and a freshman, respectively, on a roster that saw nine senior starters graduate from a 12-win team.
“I could have used a little more easing into the season, but that’s the way we like to do it,” Klein said. “We had a very tough game against them last year, so it’s nothing new. It’s always a good game.”
Great Crossing won its fourth consecutive contest in the series and improved to 5-2 against Madison Southern, overall.
None of that seemed certain when the Eagles capitalized on a defensive lapse with 6:25 remaining.
The Warhawks lit the fuse by trusting themselves to play a ball back into the defensive zone. It was a tactic that nearly bit them late in the first half. Recent history repeated itself with a costly turnover.
“It’s a learning experience. We probably shouldn’t have played it back, but it is what it is,” Klein said. “We teach them that. Sometimes I’ve got to trust it. I have to practice what I preach and sit there. It’s not always easy.”
Madison Southern took immediate advantage, first with a point-blank bid by Mia Pingleton.
Chloe Helton sacrificed her body to the turf and poked that one away, but Katherine Hemenway tapped the rebound into an open net.
The sequence grew gloomier when Helton required help from a trainer to the GC bench.
It’s a familiar refrain: Helton was pressed into duty as a freshman last summer when senior Hannah Baird went out in game one. And yes, Baird originally inherited her job the same way.
“Unfortunately, we’ve gotten into the habit of having a keeper get hurt,” Klein said. “Hannah went down after the first game, Kamorah (Tillman) in the (2023) preseason. I think it’s just a muscle strain when she went down, hopefully. They said it was hurting in training yesterday.”
Klein gave sophomore Ada Farley the starting nod in GC’s first exhibition game after Helton was absent for the first week of preseason.
That experience proved crucial. Farley jugged a long-range shot but then got a foot on it before the Eagles could pounce with a minute to go.
Great Crossing’s defense successfully cleared the ball from end to end, and the Warhawks stayed spotless (five wins, two ties) in their past seven regular-season openers.
“To hold on and learn to win (is important),” Klein said. “Learn to grind it out, because it’s going to get tougher for sure.”
In addition to Helton and Farley, defensive backs Abby King and Hailey Arbaugh basked in significant credit for protecting the win.
King, one of only two seniors on the roster, and junior Arbaugh are stepping into some big cleats.
“They’re the partnership there like Peyton (Broaddus) and Jules (all-region Julia Baker) were,” Klein said.
Great Crossing’s offense similarly clicked without a crucial missing piece. Junior striker Kendall Crump, who scored 53 goals in her first two seasons, is expected to miss several weeks with a foot injury.
If there is a silver lining, it’s that plenty of Warhawks are getting on-the-job training while scoring opportunities out of necessity.
“It’s giving them all some experience,” Klein said. “It will help us when she gets back that they should all know how to work. Not the best, but we’ve got to make do with it.”
Ava Cano delivered the extra pass, shaking off what would have been a good shot for Great Crossing to give Maxwell a better one.
Cano’s drive and dish from the left edge of the box found her classmate for a tap-in with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
Siblings showed how to share and produced what was ultimately a crucial insurance goal.
Maxwell found Ward alone down the left edge for a good look at the net. Southern keeper Lainey Alexander tipped it wide.
Keara Ward chased down the deflection and worked it back to the middle, where Kennedy Ward capitalized.
“Keara passed it to her sister for her first goal,” Klein said. “Kennedy’s a freshman. She’s getting her experience as well.”
Until the Hemenway clean-up, Madison Southern saw few opportunities after intermission.
“We saw they were playing those direct balls,” Klein said. “They had a lot of pace. Luckily, Abby can keep up. We did pretty well defensively for a new back line, and we were shuffling. I can’t really complain about it.”
Great Crossing was rained out Wednesday at Bourbon County. The Warhawks won’t play at home until Aug. 31 against George Rogers Clark.