Green Hope boys soccer hands Apex its first loss

Sometimes there’s strength in numbers. But not for Green Hope’s boys soccer team.

The Falcons played with just 10 men for most of the second half, yet scored twice in the last eight minutes on Monday to defeat previously undefeated Apex 3-2.

A hat trick by Green Hope junior Parker Washburn – tap-in from Connor Munz, a free kick and a half-bicycle after a scrum in the box on another Munz assist – helped hand Apex its first loss

“The team worked really hard,” Washburn said. “It’s definitely hard being down against Apex.”

Green Hope coach Caleb Norkus said the team went with three defenders after the red card to make sure it could keep pressing forward.

“I listened to the boys and they listened to me,” Norkus said. “It was Billy (McLaughlin)’s idea to go three in the back, and I was already thinking it, so that was good.”

Turning point

Washburn’s second goal, a free kick laser to the upper left corner, had to be hit perfectly in order to avoid the Apex wall and 6-foot-3 goalkeeper Corey Vodicka. There was a little more than eight minutes left, but Green Hope had found new life.

“There’s another level of play that sometimes you see a team get when they score a goal and tie it and they believe,” Apex coach Kevin Todd said.

They said it

“You don’t have to reassess your goals because our goal for a conference title, we still control our destiny to do that,” Todd said. “The only setback is that now we have a loss. It’s one of those scenarios where a little weight is taken off your shoulders. A goal that you weren’t really striving for (being undefeated), now you don’t have to keep thinking about it.”

Three who mattered

Parker Washburn, Green Hope: Two of his three goals were on hustle plays, following the ball. On the last one, Washburn got position on his defender where he could get some power on a ball that bandied about the box.

“That was a scrappy, physical goal,” Norkus said. “That’s called getting it done.”

Zach Curtis, Green Hope: Moved from defending midfielder to centerback on a three-man back line after the red card and directed traffic.

Will Tomlinson, Apex: Scored both goals for Apex and drew the fouls that led to them. In the first half, he drew a penalty and converted. In the second, he was on a breakaway when a Green Hope defender pulled him down from behind. The set play included another player laying back a pass for Tomlinson a the top of the box for his goal.

Feeling the impact

The SWAC race will come down to the final week thanks to its back-loaded schedule. Second-place Middle Creek (16-3, 11-3) will play Green Hope (13-3-3, 10-2-1) next Monday before closing out with Apex (17-1-1, 13-1).

Apex has its first opportunity to respond from a loss, and its coach welcomes the challenge.

“It’s easy to bounce back after two games,” Todd said. “But to bounce back after 18 games – if we bounce back from this, we’ll be better,”

This story was originally published October 20, 2015 at 12:46 AM with the headline "Green Hope boys soccer hands Apex its first loss."