Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
DAVENPORT-Some late-game heroics from Davenport's Darby Soliday were overshadowed by even later heroics from St. George's Margreit Galow. Galow scored a high-arching goal from about 25 yards out in the last minute and the Dragons (2-0) topped the Gorillas (0-1) 3-2 Thursday in Davenport's first game in 15 months after winning the state 2B title in 2019.
Soliday tied the game with her second goal with 6:30 remaining, but the celebration was short lived after St. George's steadily moved on the attack before Galow's goal. The game was called shortly afterwards.
"Both teams went through a lot of adversity, and we were the ones who happened to get lucky and get the goal at the end," St. George's head coach Logan Georgedis said.
Cambrie Rickard scored both of St. George's goals in the first half. Davenport trailed 2-1 at intermission.
Wind played a big factor Thursday. Gusts of up to 44 miles per hour blew steadily east throughout the game, so the team heading west to east was usually on the attack. In the second half, that was Davenport.
We talked about at halftime to let the ball get up in the air and let the wind carry and kept it on the ground, so it played a big role," Davenport head coach Monty Soliday said.
After scoring two goals with the wind advantage in the first half, St. George's defense held strong in the second half, allowing just one goal despite Davenport holding a time of possession advantage after intermission.
"When you play a team like Davenport with such skilled forwards (and) a wind advantage, it's tough," Georgedis said.
Thursday's game marked the second season in a row St. George's has defeated Davenport in the regular season, though the Gorillas defeated the Dragons twice in districts and the state playoffs in 2019 after the regular season shortfall.
Next up for Davenport is a Saturday matinee against Northwest Christian. Monty Soliday said there are several adjustments the team will need to make before taking the field again.
"We didn't play our brand of soccer. We just kind of swung at the ball rather than placing it. We had people out of position," Soliday said. "The girls are going to have to talk more; there wasn't as much talking."
Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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