Westminster hasn’t showed its terrible claws

to Grady in four years, but that’ll change Tuesday

By Caleb Shorthouse

The Grady girls soccer team hopes to get revenge against the Westminster Wildcats in their upcoming match at Grady Stadium on Tuesday, March 20. The last four times these two teams have played Westminster has left the Knights scoreless.

In 2007, Grady and Westminster faced off in the semifinals of the region 5-AAA tournament. Westminster defeated Grady, 2-0. Earlier that season, the last time Grady has scored a goal on Westminster, Grady lost, 4-2. In the state semifinals that same year, you can probably guess who Grady faced: that’s right, the Westminster Wildcats.

With a spot in the state championship at stake, the Wildcats were hungry for a 3-peat against Grady, and they got it, edging Grady 1-0 and ending the Knights’ bid for a AAA state champs.

In the following season, 2008, Grady again struggled to find the back of the net against Westminster. The first showdown ended in a 3-0, Westminster victory. The Wildcats and Knights battled again in the Region 5-AAA semifinals, but this time the Wildcats drubbed the Knights, 9-0. Unfortunately for the Knights, that was the last time these two teams played for four long years.
The two teams now hold a roster full of new players that didn’t experience or probably don’t know about the Grady-Westminster rivalry. The last time the two teams played, the current Grady seniors were in eighth grade.

The Grady girls soccer team has been working hard to prepare for its game against Westminster.

“…The fluidness of our plays is something we need to work on,” junior Gracie White said.

The Knights haven’t been comfortable on offense all season. Not only have they had problems scoring against Westminster in the past; they’ve had problems scoring period this season.

“We’ve been working on various offensive drills that deal with making quick plays that hopefully will inspire successful plays in the game and possibly goals,” White said. “We are also working on playing when we’re tired so that we don’t run out of energy mid game.”

The team is confident they can fix the offense and anything else that might need tweaking.

“We have really talented players who have a genuine love for the game and desire to win,” White said. “Strong friendships are further strengthened by being part of a team working towards a common goal.”

The Knights will have a chance at winning if they can attain their goal of better offensive flow but most importantly they need to come out “energized and ready to play,” White said, if they want to send the Wildcats home licking their wounds on Tuesday.