Faith, motivation fueling Lady Eagles’ drive to repeat
Payton Nutzman scored the opening goal in Eastside’s 2-0 win over Riverside Monday night. The victory clinched the Lady Eagles the 4-A Region 2 championship.
It wasn’t even 30 minutes after winning last season’s 4-A state championship that the Eastside girls’ soccer team started hearing chatter.
They didn’t deserve to win. The Lady Eagles “weren’t really” the best team in the state. They’d just gotten lucky.
“We saw players from other teams posting on Snapchat about how since they’d beaten us during the regular season, they should have been state champions, not us,” said senior goalkeeper Ava Wilson. “It was pretty wild.”
Before the season, the Lady Eagles saw a preseason poll that placed them as the No. 4 team in 4-A, despite being the reigning champions and graduating just one starter from the 2023 team.
“Even after winning state, they put us at No. 4,” said junior forward Kennedy Craig. “It was a motivator for us. Like, even after all we did last year, people still had no faith in us. We want to prove them wrong.”
Most of the Lady Eagles have memorized the three teams ranked above them before the season. They’ve fed on the doubt, and so far, it’s working.
Eastside sits at 15-2 this season, and with a 2-0 victory over Riverside on Monday night, the Lady Eagles clinched the 4-A Region 2 championship. A first-round playoff bye will come with it.
Junior right wing Payton Nutzman scored the game’s opening goal in the 12th minute, firing a rocket into the top right corner and beating Riverside’s keeper at the near post.
“It was big for us to get started so early,” said Nutzman. “I didn’t even see it go in, I just hoped it did.”
Craig scored an “Olimpico” goal straight off a corner kick in the 71st minute to seal the 2-0 win.
Wilson had six saves on the night and kept her 11th clean sheet of the season. The Lady Eagles have allowed just seven goals this year in 17 matches played.
“Goalkeepers get credit for the clean sheets, but I think almost all of the credit should go to my backline,” said Wilson, praising her defense. “They’re the reason why we have so many shutouts. They communicate with each other and with me, and they don’t let teams get many good shots on goal.”
Throughout the game, Wilson could be heard yelling praise at her defense after every block, steal, and well-timed tackle. Wilson makes it a point to positively reinforce her defense each game, and as a team, there’s rarely a negative word said on the pitch. Even after mistakes, they’re always trying to lift one another up.
Their attitude on the field, the team says, stems from their faith and bond off of it.
“We’re a team and want to win, but at the end of the day, we know that none of this is really about us,” said Wilson. “We’re sisters in Christ first. The girls on the team lead a prayer after every game. It doesn’t matter about us. We’re trying to do everything for His glory.”
“These girls have bought into our mindset here,” said Eastside head coach David Craig. “They hold each other accountable not just on the soccer field, but in the classroom and hallways, too. That’s phenomenal to me. They pour into each other every day, and their cups are constantly overflowing.”
The Lady Eagles celebrated clinching the 4-A Region 2 championship after a 2-0 clean sheet against Riverside.
Eastside’s combination of positivity, faith, and an “us against the world” mentality has brought tremendous success so far this year. But the ultimate goal is still in their sights: retaining the title.
The Lady Eagles have three games left before the 4-A playoffs begin and they get the chance to defend the state crown.
“We know we deserved to win last year, despite what anyone says,” said Craig. “But that’s the past. We want to go prove it by winning again this year. Once the playoffs start, we know that every single game could be our last.”
GAME RECAP
Riverside 0 0 - 0
Eastside 1 1 - 2
SCORING SUMMARY
12’ | EASTSIDE - Payton Nutzman
71’ | EASTSIDE - Kennedy Craig