By Nolan Epstein
Springfield, Mo. — Sophomore forward Emma McCall picked the perfect time to have the best game of her young high school career on Monday – scoring all three goals for her Lady Jays to carry Greenwood (3-3) to a 3-2 victory over visiting Fair Grove (6-5).
The athletic youngster recorded her first score at the 11:40 mark of the first half and added her final two in the second period to bring her team-leading scoring total from five to eight on the year, already tying her goal total from last season.
“She’s definitely our top goal scorer and she brings a lot to the table,” Greenwood head coach Shelby Setzer said of McCall. “It’s a lot to ask of her, but she handles it very well. It couldn’t be possible without other people on the team to help her on the way, but she definitely is one of our best players, for sure.”
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After sending her first ball into the back of the net, McCall’s second strike to put her team up 2-0 was perhaps her most impressive of the night – shifting and swerving through traffic to find open space and ultimately find pay dirt from 12 yards away.
McCall’s netter with 37:28 to play in regulation seemingly put the Lady Jays in the driver’s seat, but a resilient Fair Grove squad refused to let Greenwood continue to dominate on the pitch as the Lady Eagles received clutch goals from Maegan Holland and Shyanne McBroom in a span of less than two minutes to tie the contest in the 56th minute.
“It would have been easy to kind of give up and just kind of concede the loss, but we made some adjustments and I think that they helped us,” said Fair Grove head coach Joseph Florez. “Our girls dug deep.”
Greenwood, now finding itself floating in a sea of uncertainty, once again turned to its star sophomore to fend off the impressive comeback attempt by the Lady Eagles.
With the help of some late-game adrenaline – and some potential spoonfuls of frozen custard – McCall answered the call by scoring the go-ahead goal and securing the hat trick with just 3:41 remaining.
“To be honest with you, the first thing that went through my head was the Andy’s my mom promised me if I got a hat trick,” McCall said, laughing, when asked what her first thought was after scoring the game-winner.
Since both teams share the same district, a rematch between the two clubs stands as a definite possibility in the postseason. If that indeed occurs, Florez is confident his team will be ready for McCall the second time around.
“She’s just a really good player,” Florez added after the game. “We knew she was a good player. Hopefully we learn some lessons from defending her the first time, and when we see [Greenwood] later in the season, hopefully we can take those lessons to heart.”
Greenwood hosts Parkview on Wednesday, while Fair Grove stays on the road for a Wednesday match with New Covenant.
