NEW HOPE — It all happened in an instant, two massive chances late that would have allowed Corinth to either equalize or take the lead.
One came at the stroke of full time, the other a few minutes before, and things got tense around the New Hope bench.
Up 3-2, all the Trojans needed to do was hang on to secure a key district win, and lucky for them, between the sticks was a brick wall of a goalkeeper in junior Anthony Marquez.
The first save was a fantastic outstretched attempt on a curling shot to the right of goal. The second, a chaotic bounce off a shot that Marquez pushed aside, securing a 3-2 win for New Hope.
“My amazing teammates, they’re always out there to help me,” Marquez said. “They yell my name and help bring my reaction time up and I’m just really thankful for them. Thanks to them, I got the quick saves that I could get.”
New Hope (4-2-2, 2-0 in district) benefitted off a goalkeeping blunder late in the second half as Jack Oswalt’s shot on net went through and under Warriors keeper Blakley Timbes, putting the Trojans up 3-2.
Goalkeeping went their way offensively, so naturally, it continued to go their way defensively, and the Trojans celebrated around Marquez after the final whistle sounded.
“He saved the game,” head coach Andrew Olsen said. “Tony stepped up big for us on that. He’s had a great year for us. I owe him a Christmas dinner or something like that. … He’s one of those guys where he’s going to show up and give you 100 percent, no matter what you ask of him. You can tell it pays off in games just based off his work ethic.”
New Hope had two seniors fill the score sheet in the win, with Oswalt’s goal in the 70th minute ending up as the game winner while two from Joshua Wilcox in the first half put the Trojans up 2-1 going into the half.
The second of Wilcox’s goals came off a free kick, a redirection in the box that came right to Wilcox and ricocheted off his body into the net.
The lead at the half proved to be crucial, despite Corinth needing a second-half goal to tie things up, as New Hope just needed one to secure a victory and an important result in district play.
“It puts us in a great spot and it just shows the rest of the district that we’re ready to play,” Marquez said.
Girls soccer: New Hope 2, Corinth 0
The winning ways don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon for New Hope girls soccer, who shut out Corinth on Thursday night, 2-0, improving to 2-0 in district.
Two goals in the first half from Anna Clair Nabors and Angel Vaughn Harrison gave the Trojans (6-2) a two-goal advantage going into the half, and the underclassmen stepping up proved to be all the difference in the end.
“Our mission going in was just trying to control the pace of the game and control possession, trying to wear them down,” Olsen said. “We knew that they were going to come in and try to play long balls behind the back line, so we practiced that throughout the week. Overall, once we got up, we did a good job of controlling the game.”
Corinth spent much of the second half desperately trying to generate scoring chances off long balls, but New Hope neutralized those chances while setting up more promising opportunities for themselves.
The Trojans’ best scoring chance in the second half came off a shot off the left woodwork and put just wide left of the net after, but that two-goal lead proved to be enough to stay undefeated in district play.
“I think they’ve responded well,” Olsen said. “We’ve preached all offseason that we need to be better on the ball, off the ball, just moving all around. We’ve had some key people moved into some key pieces that weren’t there last year, but I think we’re adjusting well.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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