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By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The right mindset establishes confidence.
Confidence leads to better results on the field.
Winning spawns team water balloon fights at practice and supporters in the stands wearing zany hats.
It’s a simple approach, but one that’s been very effective for the Greenwood Lady Blue Jays: Have fun, play together and see what happens.
Greenwood’s turnaround season continued Saturday afternoon with a historical feat, as the Lady Blue Jays defeated Crocker 3-1 in the Class 1 quarterfinals at Cooper Soccer Complex in Springfield.
With the win, Greenwood advances to the state final four for the first time in program history.
“The first thing that comes to mind is, ‘Wow,’” said Greenwood first-year coach Melissa Kuhar. “It’s been a fun year. From day one, my whole mentality with the team has just been, ‘Go out there, have fun and just play soccer.’”
“To be able to make it to state, that’s icing on the cake. Our goal and objective was to play quality soccer, win some games and see where it takes us. And it’s taken us to state, which is crazy.”
Greenwood senior Annabelle Sonnemaker had a pair of goals, including a dagger in the 78th minute that sealed the outcome.
Greenwood will compete in the Class 1 state soccer championships June 3-4 at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton.
“It feels so amazing,” Sonnemaker said. “I’m so proud of these girls. Every game, they give it their all. I’m grateful to call them my family and being able to take the field with them for my senior year and coming this far.”
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The Lady Blue Jays face St. Pius X (Festus) in the Class 1 semifinals at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 3. St. Pius X (13-6-1 overall) beat Metro 6-0 in its quarterfinal match on Saturday.
Greenwood led Crocker 2-0 at halftime on Saturday, thanks to first-half goals from Tess Fowler (15’) and Sonnemaker (30’).
Instead of a repeat from the regular season meeting – won 5-0 by Greenwood – Crocker took the fight to Greenwood for much of the second half.
The Lady Lions drew within 2-1 on Emma Routh’s penalty kick in the 54th minute.
Playing behind a steady south wind, Crocker’s surge continued over the next 20 minutes until Sonnemaker juked past multiple defenders and buried one similar to her first-half score.
Sonnemaker, who will continue her soccer career at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, leads Greenwood with 37 goals on the season.
“It wasn’t pretty in the second half, but the players all buy in and accept their roles,” Kuhar said. “That’s been our M.O. – everyone has a purpose on this team. Annabelle and Tess are our top goal scorers, but they don’t do it alone.”
Greenwood (15-3 overall) endured a winless season just three years ago and had not finished above .500 since 2012.
“From the start, it’s been about confidence,” Kuhar said. “This team lost five games by one goal last year. It was a confidence thing.”
As part of its “have fun” approach, Greenwood made water balloons and invited players to bring their dogs to the final practice before Saturday’s match.
A new tradition has started in the stands as well – most Greenwood supporters on Saturday wore decorative pirate- or bird-themed headwear.
Said Sonnemaker: “With where we are right now, it almost brings me to tears. It’s happy tears.”
Crocker finishes 13-9 overall and graduates a seven-player senior class that helped the program reach new heights in recent years.
The Lady Lions celebrated their third straight district championship this season.
