It’s been a long post-season for Greenwood — starting with the double-overtime win over Fair Grove in the District Championship, and the state quarterfinals had the potential to be the same way.
Scoreless after 40 minutes, Blue Jays head coach Chris Shull turned to one player specifically.
“He needed to be challenged, and he could take it. You have to know your players and which buttons to push, and what motivates them,” Shull said.
“He was just telling me like it was. I’ll tell you second half I definitely played more aggressive,” said Greenwood junior Hugh McWay.
And after a halftime pep-talk, the tempo shifted.
“I believe it was Joseph that got the ball, and he sent me a beautiful pass down line,” said McWay. “I was able to get the first touch and then take it to goal by beating the last defender on the right, then cutting it in and taking a shot.”
Hugh McWay netted the first goal of the game in the 60th minute.
“It’s a mental thing, so once we got that first one in they got hungrier and they wanted more,” Shull said.
The Blue Jays scored another one just minutes later. It was McWay once again.
“Hats off to Hugh, coming out the second half and getting it done,” said Shull.
And with the 2-nil win over Laquey, Greenwood advanced to the final four.
“Oh it feels great. My first final four and I’ve been playing for three years so far, so it feels really good,” McWay said.
