Defense wins championships in many circumstances, but for the Warrenton soccer team it was only enough for consolation in a 7-14 season that saw the Warriors offense struggle mightily.Coach David …
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Defense wins championships in many circumstances, but for the Warrenton soccer team it was only enough for consolation in a 7-14 season that saw the Warriors offense struggle mightily.Coach David Evans was thrilled with one statistic — as Warrenton held its opponents to 21 goals.“That was phenomenal for us,” said Evans. “As far as our win-loss record goes, I think we were on the doorstep of having an opposite record.”Much of that success centered around the stellar play of goalkeeper Julia Crossen and four All-GAC competitors. Warrenton leaned heavily on its underclassmen, who quickly emerged as potential stars.“With these freshmen as our building blocks, we should be in good shape for several years to come,” said Evans.Leading the way was freshman Brittany Glazebrook, whose immediate impact earned her first-team all-conference honors. She scored a team-best 25 points on 11 goals and three assists.Colleen Bayer was another major contributor, netting 13 points on four goals and five assists.Danielle Duello, Tyler Gregory, Macie Sommer and Sam Swoboda each connected on three goals.During her first year as a varsity starter, Crossen made 100 saves while giving up 19 goals.“Julia did a great job in goal,” said Evans. “She saved a lot of shots back there.”He was also thrilled with the play of Tiffany Fleahman.“Tiffany was a lot more consistent and confident with the ball than she was last season,” said Evans. “She’s going to be a huge strength of our defense.”The Warriors’ most lopsided defeat was a 4-0 loss to Winfield, while they lost 10 games by just one goal. It was a considerable improvement from previous seasons, but Evans says it’s time to turn another corner.“I think the comraderie amongst the girls was good from the beginning,” said Evans. “With the small roster we had, we faced some injuries and that changed some things around.”He points to a rematch with Sullivan as one of Warrenton’s performances after the Warriors dropped nine out of its first 10 games.“To be able to come out and defeat them 3-0 was great,” recalled Evans.The Warriors had claimed a dominant 10-0 victory at Fulton early, but couldn’t climb back into the win column until a three-game winning stretch in late April. During that time they defeated Whitfield, Mexico and Sullivan.Warrenton’s greatest Achilles’ heel never changed throughout the season. It was pure and simple — the inability to score.“We developed a possession game, but we haven’t gotten to the offensive aspect of it,” said Evans. “We had some fast players who could get up the field, but we had trouble putting the ball into the back of the net.”Despite the Warriors being able to limit their opponent’s scoring, Evans says all the credit doesn’t necessarily belong to the defense.“I think more than our defense being strong was our ability to possess the ball,” said Evans. “By being able to control the ball for a longer period of time helped us keep the ball ahead from our defense.”He says one tremendous difference from previous seasons was the Warriors’ ability to maintain a positive attitude and stay focused on their goals.“This group worked great together all season, and we were able to keep the morale up,” said Evans. “Once we develop a scorer or two, I think we’ll be fine.”DUELLO LEADS WARRIORSDerrick Forsythe photo.