A historic run of the field propels North Greenville towards the goal of victory
Brayden Allen, Sports Editor
The Crusaders have an act for getting the ball into the net as the North Greenville women’s soccer team continues to press on through their sensational 2022 season.
The Lady Crusaders are on an impressive run, currently holding a 10-3-1 record, one of the programs best. This only adds to a series of stunning seasons under head coach Andy Robinson, where over the past five years, the team has averaged 10 wins and only 5 losses.
Robinson served as the head coach for both the men’s and women’s teams from 2001 to 2002 before leaving to serve as the head coach at Eastside High School from 2003 to 2014. He returned in 2015 to take over a struggling women’s team that finished with four consecutive losing seasons, averaging less than 4 wins per year.
Now in the ninth season since his return, Robinson has made a big impact on his players, specifically ones on this year’s team. Many of them were on the team during the 2020 season cut short as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“My freshman year I don’t think the team was even top 5 in the conference,” senior Lizzy Luzzi said. “We didn’t know where to start but coach did, he knew exactly what to do. He taught us to take every day one at a time and always, always play like it’s your last.
Following the pandemic, Coach Robinson’s leadership was profound for Luzzi, as she was developing to become a great goalkeeper and while she says she didn’t know it, he was also helping her develop into a team leader, one that would help mentor current freshman goalkeeper Samatha Motgomery.
“Coach Andy has had a huge impact on me as a player but more as a person. He knows how to take every negative situation or challenging obstacle and turn it into something positive and useful, Luzzi said. “There were times when I felt like quitting, when I felt like giving up because I couldn’t catch a break from life but I could always count on him for guidance.
Now in her senior season, Luzzi is excited and has high hopes for this year’s team.
The season began with a less than stellar start as NGU opened up with a tie and two straight losses against out of conference opponents, Lander, North Georgia and number 24 ranked Catawba. Focus then shifted to conference play, as just a season ago the Lady Crusaders went on their first impressive run.
In 2021, the season ended earlier than expected as the team fell to a tough UNC-Pembroke team in the tournament semifinals. This was something the Lady Crusaders wanted to avenge in 2022.
“Last year we felt we had a lot to prove. It was a fight till the very end,” Luzzi said. They beat us 1-0 and went on to face Mt Olive and beat them to win the conference. That core memory of watching them run past us onto the field holding the trophy and cheering is what drives us, what motivates us.”
Fast forward to this year, the Crusaders made their presence known as they opened up conference play in dominant fashion. The team got things started with a 1-0 victory on the road at Belmont Abbey before going on a historic, undefeated 9-0 run.
Along the way, the Lady Crusaders battled defensively, shutting out seven opponents. This was with the help of Motgomery who averaged a total of three saves per game, with a saving percentage over 70%.
In addition, the team averaged two goals per game. Season highs came as NGU crushed opponents Southern Wesleyan, Emmanuel and out of conference opponent Bob Jones, combining for a total of 11 goals in those three matches alone.
Senior forward Roome Contreras has been a dominant force for the Lady Crusaders all season long, averaging a goal in almost every match and currently has a team leading, 10 on the season.
“My job as a forward is to score goals,” Contreras said. “When my team is working so hard to win balls and keep them out of our net, the least I can do is create and finish chances.”
Standing at only 4 feet 10 inches, she is known for being one of the smallest players on the team but she says people shouldn’t count her out because of her size.
“I’ve always been short and I knew from a young age that I wasn’t going to grow anymore,” Contrereas said. “I worked that much harder to be a step ahead in being technical. I think a lot of opponents look at me and underestimate my abilities at times because of my height.”
Unfortunately things have gotten tough for NGU as they have hit their latest roadblock of the season with a match up against a familiar opponent. The Lady Crusaders had their undefeated run ended with a 1-0 loss to UNC-Pembroke, who by this time had earned a number 24 national ranking.
While the loss may be the equivalent of a goalkeeper standing in front of the symbolic goal of a conference championship, the players say it only helps make the team better and stronger.
“The two teams we have such a rivalry against look at us like we are no competition, like we don’t deserve to be in the finals or at the top of conference standings,” Luzzi said. “Pembroke thinks they will have it easy in this conference, the loss on our home turf, on senior night, on our home turf was a knife to our heart, it will propel us to do better.”
Currently the Lady Crusaders still remain atop of Conference Carolina’s standings with a 9-1 record. They look to rematch the Braves later this fall at the conference tournament.
