Falling off a bicycle can be a traumatic experience for a young child learning to ride, yet most parents have encouraged their children to stay the course and get back on as quickly as possible, The same ar-gument can be made for any team following a loss to a strong rival - they need to get back into the fray of things. For the Lady Eagles, that would mean forgetting the tough experience in Roanoke, and to ready themselves for what has become their most intense non-district opponent.

The Martinsville Lady Bulldogs would arrive in town with revenge in mind for loses in previous bat-tles and a strong desire to make the Danville team pay for those past encounters. At half time of this latest encounter, the scoreboard would reflect a scoreless situation, but in retrospect, the play was not as balanced as the score would lead one to believe. At times, the Lady Eagles had demonstrated out-standing ball movement from the midfield area to within range of the goal line, yet six scoring oppor-tunities would turn unproductive with either wide shots being made or the visiting keeper making nec-essary saves. Meanwhile on the defensive side of the ledger, the visitors would be held without a sin-gle shot at GW's nets.

Yet in the second half action most definitely would heat up and points would quickly light up the scoreboard. Martinsville would be the first team to break the ice, taking advantage of a Free Kick situation that would slip through the GW goalie's hands, providing the Lady Bulldogs with a slim yet critical 1-0 lead. Keep in mind that in soccer, a single goal lead often times can be a major obstacle especially the longer that lead lasts through the second half. Perhaps more incensed that deflated by this sudden turn of events, the Lady Eagles would gather their wits and simply take charge of matters at hand. After several minutes of unproductive activity from either side, Maria Abreu would capture a loose ball at the Martinsville 18, throw a defender off-stride with a gracious fake, and with the power of a Mia Hamm nailed her shot into the opposite side of the nets. What had appeared to be dire straights for the home team had now developed into a barnburner tie game, with "Old Mo" having shifted partners and GW unwilling to relinquish the advantage. No more than five minutes later, it would be déjà vu all over again as Abreu provided the crowd with an near instance replay of her pre-vious score and a 2-1 lead for the Lady Eagles. Later, Samantha Halnon would hit the strings for her second tally in as many matches, alertly finishing off a misplay by the Martinsville goalie. In addition, despite a lone give away early on, goalie Meredith Ray would provide superb play in the nets turning away four second half shots from the visitors. Overall, the performance had to be pleasing to team and fans alike, improving the record on the young season to 1-1.

After a brief rest and encouragement from their leader, the second half would belong totally to GW, as experience and talent would become more than the young Tunstall squad could handle. In respect to this group from the county, the visitors would only start one senior and two juniors, while also playing six freshmen throughout the entire evening. While the Ladies from Troy may be in the midst of devel-oping a fledging program, nonetheless this could be program that in the near future becomes a force within their own district. On the other side, this would be a balanced performance for the Lady Eagles, with Samantha Halnon leading the offense with two goals, while four other players would burn the nets in this overall team effort. Unfortunately, the names of the other scorers as well as the sometimes forgotten defenders were not available at this time.

Nevertheless, with a 2-1 record and a two match winning streak, the team must ready themselves for re-entry into district play and a trip to the foothills, and the annual "Double Eagle" battle in Rocky Mount.

Throughout the opening minutes, both teams would initiate drives to the goal but either strong defen-sive action or misconnection on shots and passes would result in a scoreless battle for about the first fifteen minutes. Then momentum would abruptly swing to the visitors, carrying with it the complexity of this match that would never be the same, as apparently the referee detected an infraction in GW's goalie area, setting up a penalty kick for Tunstall. Keep in mind that the only defense for penalty kicks in the box is nothing short of goalie anticipation and reaction, with the advantage to the kicker, and the keeper having to guess which way to react; there are no second chances, either you anticipate correctly or miss the ball altogether.

Yet, as if this was meant to be the reenactment of Bobby Bowden's worse nightmare, the ensuing Tro-jan shot would sail "wide right." However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and on this play, goalie movement was in the eye of the referee. Thus, a second chance was awarded to the Trojans and this time the result would be reversed as a hard liner zipped to the keeper's right, providing an early 1-0 lead for the visitors. Later in the period, a shot from thirty-five yards out towards the GW nets would yield another score for a 2-0 lead, while adding confidence to the Tunstall squad. A hard liner and a tough play for the keeper who stretched to his limit in an attempt to deflect the shot, still the ball has enough "English" that even pool-shark Minnesota Fats would have been in awe.

The second half would see the Eagles applying more pressure, but similar to the first stanza shots would be directed either at the goalie or else were made too far out to have any potential chance at success. Granted the Tunstall keeper did make some critical saves, yet the combination of a packed back defense and impatience would prevent GW from penetrating to a point of advantageous shot development.

Meanwhile, Tunstall would make full advantage of their shots (only three taken all night) by sealing the victory with a third goal mid way through the stanza. A corner kick on the Eagle side of the field seemingly with eyes would sail over defenders and offensive players alike, only to find a temporarily undefended Trojan player, who instinctively headed the ball into the unoccupied side of the nets. De-fenders and keeper alike were guarding the side closest to the kicker, and if only for a brief moment, an opening developed that would be cruelly exploited. That action would mark the end of the night's scoring, with the Tunstall squad defeating GW for the first time in this recently arranged rivalry. Yet, there will be a rematch later in the season, as the Eagles will make their first trip to Tunstall on May 13th, with the results of this night a vivid memory for motivation.

The Girls:
Following a loss at home at the hands of the Patrick Henry JV squad, the Lady Eaglets returned to ac-tion for an inter-county match-up with the JV team from Martinsville. Young talent is always hard to gauge based on a single outing, yet if this match was any indication there may be a rising star among the team's ranks. Denise Fitzgerald scored her first scholastic "Hat Trick", notching three goals in a 4-2 victory. However, one player does not make a team, and it should be noted that Dawn Knowles also made an important contribution scoring a critical goal in the process, while Tiara Lewis turned away ten shots of her opponents in a solid effort in goal. With this victory, the team improved to a solid 2-1 record, with more opportunities on the horizon.

After their victory over Martinsville, the JV Girls would next make a short trip south on Highway 86, for a match against the Bartlett Yancey JV's. Showing promise of a strong season plus a glimpse of future potential, these young ladies would continue their winning ways with a 4-1 victory over their North Carolina neighbors. As if an encore to her last performance, Denise Fitzgerald would add two goals to her team-leading total, giving her five in the last two matches. Yet, she would not be without a solid supporting cast as Dawn Knowles kicked in her second tally in as many outings, and Rebecca Daniels would also burn the nets for another Lady Eaglets score. Meanwhile, keepers Tiara Lewis and Noura Allen would share duties in the nets, combing for ten saves between the two. The outcome would represent another solid victory for this young group, pushing their record to 3-1 for the season.

The Boys:
Similar to the Girls the JV Boys were also coming off a home loss to Patrick Henry, yet their next en-counter would not be played before an advantageous home crowd. Instead, it would require a journey along Highway 58 to meet their counterparts from Martinsville. Taking charges for this young group would be Cabell Maddux and Billy Waymouth, who each would notch single tallies that resulted to a 2-0 shutout of the home-standing Bulldogs. Following the previous tough loss, this outcome certainly must be a good confidence builder, and a victory that would even the early season's record at 1-1.