Heading into Friday night’s matchup with the Richmond Hill Wildcats the Glynn Academy Terrors boys soccer team not only wanted to win to stay undefeated but earn the 400th victory of head coach Bobby Brockman’s career.
With weather conditions that changed frantically from the morning to the time of play, the normal crisp passes the Terrors made weren’t happening.
Neither team had possession for long periods of time, instead, they used tactics of drilling through balls to use the wet pitch to their advantage.
“I think we were a little tight for whatever reason tonight,” Brockman said. “It is a strange thing because you never know from one game to the next how high school kids are going to react. I think we were a little tight because of the 400 deal and some alumni coming out.”
After 15 minutes of game time, Glynn (10-0, 6-0) found its groove of putting pressure on Richmond Hill’s defense (3-5, 2-3). In the 25th minute, Gavin Swafford took a free-kick from outside the box and nearly scored the game’s first goal.
A minute later Luke O’Connor missed a wide-open first-time shot that was set up perfectly for him by Jonas Coyle. As he skied the ball over the goal, Brockman told his forward to keep his chest down and composed when striking the ball.
After a few more missed chances by the Terrors and Wildcats, it was with five minutes to go when the first game-changing decision took place. Richmond Hill’s James Campbell thought he had the first goal of the night with a perfect strike 25 yards out. However, the side judge ruled the ball struck Campbell’s arm and obstructed the path of the ball to give him an advantage.
With just seconds to go in the first half, the Terrors would get on the board. O’Connor threw a long ball from the right side of the pitch that reached the feet of Harrison Lee. Lee took a shot with his left foot and as it deflected off a defender, it left the goalie diving in the wrong direction to get the first goal of the night.
“First goal we were a little lucky on that, but we were unlucky when some of the near misses we had in the first half,” Brockman said. “Their keeper was outstanding — that guy made some tremendous saves the whole game.
At the start of the second half, the Terrors came out pressing high and attacking the Richmond Hill backline. Looking to get the second goal early, the team created three chances in the first five minutes.
Minutes after the third chance, Glynn had a free-kick from 25 yards out. Gavin Swafford stood over the ball and with his teammates crowding the box, he whipped the ball to the back post for a wide-open Jefferson Garcia Diaz to head the ball in for the team’s second goal of the game.
As a few Terrors celebrated with a choreographed dance in front of the home crowd, they didn’t ease up on the Wildcats defense.
Two minutes later, Glynn drew a foul just outside the penalty box. With Jonathan Sasser and Swafford both stepping over the ball, Swafford took the shot but sailed the ball over the crossbar.
With a two-goal advantage and looking to hold onto a clean sheet, goalkeeper Durham Daniel stepped up big for his team. Richmond Hill’s attack split apart the Glynn defense in the remaining 25 minutes of the game, but every time the team believed to have a goal, Daniel would put a hand to the ball.
Daniel saved two consecutive shots in one possession and in those final 25 minutes, he saved five of his six saves in the game, keeping a clean sheet.
“On a night like tonight, it’s not easy to handle the ball because it’s really damp and wet,” Brockman said of Daniel’s performance. “He did a good job. Our defense I thought was really good limiting their chances and everybody played hard and competed. I was proud of them.”
After the final whistle, Brockman was honored at midfield with his players as he received a 400 plaque for his accomplishments as coach of the Terrors soccer team. As he was showered with praise, Brockman kept the feat on the players who have come through the program and earn the victories.
Glynn welcomes its crosstown rivals Brunswick High to Glynn County Stadium at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Terrors will look to avenge last year’s losses to the Pirates.
Lady Terrors 4
Wildcats 2
In the first game of the night, with weather conditions hazy and windy, the Glynn Academy Lady Terrors (9-0, 6-0) stayed undefeated with a 4-2 win over Richmond Hill.
The team came out with a high-press tactic of forcing bad passes from the Wildcats (7-2, 3-1) as the ball bounced all night on the slick grass.
Five minutes into the game, the Lady Terrors had their first chance of the game on a free kick by Eliza Meader. Her attempt rattled off of the crossbar of the field goal post but showed how close her strike was to put the team up early.
Neither team controlled the ball very well due to the field conditions, with passes that seemed routine not being completed by two of the best teams in the region.
“We were flat for sure when we came out,” said Glynn Academy head coach Tom Lemmon. “When it started to rain a little bit it ruined the weight of the passes and skipped through when normally it is sitting up for us. It was messing us up with our touches. Finally, we settled down a little bit and got two in the first half.”
Thirty minutes of game time passed before the Lady Terrors got their first goal of the night. Senior Emme Ross was fouled outside of the box, resulting in a yellow card for a Wildcat defender and another dangerous opportunity for Meader on the ball. With her shot parried away by the goalkeeper, Cassie Naldrett collected the rebound next to the line and tapped in the loose ball for the first goal of the night.
Glynn continued its pressure with minutes remaining in the first half, looking to add another goal before going into the locker room.
With 57 seconds left in the half, Ross took a shot from 12 yards out that was deflected and loose in the penalty area, Meader ran after the ball with a Wildcat defender and goalie charging after the ball. As the three of them collided, Liv Galloway struck Meader twice as she was down on the ground. The referee instantly grabbed the red card from his pocketbook towards Galloway’s actions.
“Not here, but our players have been hit before,” Lemmon said about the goalkeeper receiving red for striking one of his players. “It’s the heat of the game, frustration, and things like that. We preach to our girls about composure. It’s going to be physical and you have got to pick yourself up and move on.”
After a few minutes of discussing whether Glynn would be awarded a penalty kick or not because of the actions from Galloway inside the box, the referee awarded the Terrors the penalty.
Meader stepped up to the ball against the new Wildcat keeper and nonchalantly scored into the bottom corner of the net for the team’s second goal of the first half.
With Richmond Hill forced to play the remainder of the game (41 minutes) with 10 men on the field, they never showed any quit being a man down.
The Wildcats got their first goal of the night almost resembling the exact outcome of the Terrors’ first goal. With the free-kick whipped into the box, Lili Wood failed to control the ball as it went onto the ground. Kiara Bermudez tapped in the loose ball into the back of the net to trail 2-1.
“Sometimes it’s harder to play against 10 because you think you have a lot more room and instead of playing it simple,” Lemmon said. “They have got a good team. We were able to finally start knocking it around and finish (the game) with a couple more goals.”
Glynn didn’t let the goal keep them down for long, securing its third goal of the night on a corner. Capers Childs delivered a low-driven cross that found the feet of Ross, burying home the third goal of the night for the team.
Knowing the Wildcats were starting to slow down immensely because they were down to 10 men, the Lady Terrors continued to play their game and press and counter-attack at all times.
With 9:30 left in the second half, Kennedy Flores delivered a ball to Meader who flicked the ball off the back of her head and into the back of the net from 18-yards out for Glynn’s fourth goal of the night.
Richmond Hill would score with a few minutes on a direct free-kick that went into the far corner, out of the reach from Wood for its second goal of the night.
Glynn takes on its cross-town rivals, Brunswick High, at 5 p.m. on Tuesday at Glynn County Stadium.