BY MIKE BAER

Just one month after losing to rival Riverwood High School, the Grady girls soccer team defeated the Raiders 4-2.

Riverwood scored the first goal of the game last Friday at the Raiders’ Hoskyn Stadium, which motivated the Knights.

Grady coach Rodney Thomas said the team was performing “horrible till they scored on us. They weren’t mentally prepared for it [the game]. And they suffered for it.”

The second half began with Grady trailing 1-0, but the girls began to fight back. Ansley Marks scored the first goal, tying the game and reversing the momentum.

Riverwood fouled Perri Bonner in its own penalty box.  Sophie Maschinot took the first penalty kick, which was caught by the goalie. Due to the goalie’s illegal placement, Grady was given a second chance. The second shot, taken by Bonner, was a goal and brought Grady into the lead 2-1 with 17 minutes left.

Grady stayed on the offensive, and with 10 minutes left, Sophie Maschinot scored a goal, widening Grady’s lead to 3-1 with only nine minutes remaining. Riverwood struck back with a second goal, making it a one-goal margin with seven minutes left on the clock. With five minutes left in the game, Nally Kinnane volleyed the ball into the goal, widening the score to 4-2.

At the end of the game, Coach Thomas mentioned he was “quite happy” with the team as they enter playoffs, and proud of them for beating such a bitter rival. He said he is concerned, however, that the team tends to “come out unmotivated.”

“In boxing terms, they don’t wake up until they take a shot in the mouth,” he said.

The team will face Carrollton High School May 1 in the first round of playoffs.