The Greenwood girls’ soccer team asserted itself early in a matchup featuring the two teams with the best overall records in the Fourth Region.

The Lady Gators scored four times in the first half on their way to a 7-2 victory at South Warren on Tuesday.

“We’re just looking to move forward, honestly. We’re just taking one game at a time and just wanting to move forward,” Greenwood coach Zac Lechler said.

“I think we just want to come out every first half putting teams on their heels,” Lechler added. “It’s not just specifically any one team, but we always try to come out hard every game.”

The Lady Gators, who entered with an 8-1-1 mark, put the pressure on the Spartans’ defense from the start and racked up 17 shots in the first half. Greenwood broke through for the first time just over eight minutes in when Anna Haddock received a pass, cut around a defender and then around South Warren goalkeeper Therese Bohnlein before placing the ball into the empty net with her right foot.

“I think we knew we wanted to come out with a lot of power and a lot of intimidation to kind of set the tone for the game,” Haddock said. “I think that’s really important and we’re looking to do that later on throughout the season.”

Amaya Salvador added to Greenwood’s lead 10 minutes later with a left-footed shot over the dive of Bohnlein.

South Warren, which entered with an 8-3-0 overall record and a 2-1-0 mark in District 14 play, tried to hold off a Greenwood offense that put up 51 goals through its first 10 contests and counter with quick strikes down the field. It paid off with 18:11 to play in the half when the Spartans cut into Greenwood’s lead with Sofia Hasani’s 18th goal of the season.

“With a team like Greenwood, you try to play solid defensively and then try to have quick counters. It paid off for us in that first half, just couldn’t break through in the second,” South Warren coach Andrew Hutto said. “Overall, I was proud of our girls. We executed our game plan and played well in that first half especially.”

The Lady Gators answered, adding to the lead with two quick goals following Hasani’s. Erin Heltsley got the rebound on a shot from Haddock that Bohnlein saved and one-timed it off the post and in. With just under 10 minutes in the half, Haddock recorded her second goal by getting a shot under Bohnlein to give the Lady Gators a 4-1 lead.

Hasani put a right-footed shot past Greenwood goalkeeper Elizabeth DeMarse with 2:10 to play in the half, but the Lady Gators locked down defensively from there and shut out the Spartans in the second half.

“I think we had a few mistakes early on and just looking to improve on those and keep it cleaner in the second half really helped us earn that success,” Greenwood senior defender Ellie Belcher said.

Greenwood continued to add to its lead in the second half, starting with a header from Rebekah Dickinson off a corner kick from Annabel Justice with 29:50 remaining.

Callie Strode became the fifth Lady Gator to score by cleaning up a loose ball in front of the net to put her team up 6-2, before Belcher finished off the scoring with 13 minutes to play on a corner South Warren couldn’t clear.

“We’re working on getting different girls to finish and I think tonight really showed that,” Lechler said. “I think every week we’ve improved on exactly what we’ve worked on, so it’s good to see different girls finishing tonight.”

Greenwood moved to 9-1-1 with the win and 3-0-0 against District 14 opponents. The Lady Gators are scheduled to host Bowling Green on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

South Warren fell to 8-4-0 and will host Logan County on Thursday.{&end}