Senior defender Vanessa Nava found the back of the net on two occasions for Parkview (3-5) on Friday, but it was her second score that rang the loudest in the Lady Vikings' 2-1 win over the Greenwood Lady Jays (1-3).
Traditionally manning the roll of keeping soccer balls away from her team's net, Nava found herself in the thick of the action for Parkview's offensive attack on a pair of corner kicks.
Nava's first goal of the evening came after an attempted header off a corner kick went awry, but a ricochet right back to Nava allowed the senior to regroup and blast the ball past Greenwood keeper Jessie Won, opening the scoring for both clubs with 22:11 to go in the first half.
“We usually practice corner kicks with me just heading the ball,” Nava said. “I couldn't get the first one in the head, but I still managed to get it in the net.”
With just 2:07 to go in the opening period, the Lady Jays would battle back – thanks to the heroics of freshman forward Emma McCall, who struck from twelve yards out and lined the ball into the top-right corner of the net.
The Lady Vikings, trying to regain momentum after letting the slim one-goal lead slip away, looked to their head coach to prevent discouragement from creeping into their minds at halftime.
“I just told them that it's tied 1-1, you've got to come out, you've got to put one in the back of the net and hopefully it will relax us a little bit,” Parkview coach Shelby Stewart said.
Nava heard her coach's message loud and clear.
With Parkview getting into position for another corner kick twelve minutes into the second half, Nava executed her plan to absolute perfection this time around – heading in a beautiful boot from junior Maya Flores for what would be the game-winning goal.
“She's a defender, so she doesn't normally score,” Stewart said of Nava. “But if we get set pieces, she's pretty good at heading them in.”
Defense took over the rest of the way for the Lady Vikings as goalkeeper Aaliyah Buckley made a pair of commendable stops to keep the lead – and the victory – in tact for a team that seems to be trending upward.
“We've got some stuff we need to shape up, but overall, we work hard,” added Stewart. “I've got a lot of new girls that are young and they're learning, but they're doing a good job. They fight hard every night.”
Parkview hits the road to play West Plains in an Ozark Conference showdown on Tuesday. Greenwood returns to action Monday when it travels to New Covenant.
