FAYETTEVILLE — Not quite a month ago the Greenfield School varsity boys soccer team took a tough 3-2 nonconference loss at Fayetteville Academy, then ranked No. 1 among North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 2-A teams.
On Saturday, the Knights returned to Fayetteville to take on the Eagles, still ranked No. 1 and unbeaten in 15 games, in the third round of the NCISAA 2-A playoffs and this time, Greenfield celebrated a 3-2 win and another trip to the state semifinals. Junior Landyn Coolbaugh’s hat trick accounted for all of Greenfield’s scoring in the upset.
The No. 6-seeded Knights, now 15-8-1, of first-year head coach George Venturella will visit No. 2 Westchester Country Day (14-5) in High Point for a 6 p.m. kickoff Tuesday, Oct. 22. A win would send Greenfield back to Westchester Country Day, host of Saturday’s championship game, against the winner of Tuesday’s other semifinals match between No. 1 seed Gaston Day (14-4) and No. 4 Caldwell Academy (7-10).
Coolbaugh gave the Knights the lead almost immediately when he scored in the first minute off a pass from junior center back Noah Wright. Coolbaugh, Greenfield’s scoring leader now with 28 goals, launched a free kick goal around the midpoint of the half to double the Knights’ lead.