NOT TODAY! … Delta goalie Ryllie Taylor leaps to deflect an Evergreen shot.
PHOTOS BY RENEA KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
FULTON COUNTY FOES … Evergreen senior Brynley Lipinski maintains possession during Evergreen’s NWOAL battle with Delta.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
METAMORA (September 30, 2025) – To say Delta girls’ soccer coach Paige Triana is a perfectionist would more than likely be a true statement.
Even after the Panthers’ 2-0 triumph over Evergreen, she was still coaching up her kids on what to improve on.
Oh, watch out if those tweaks come to light in the postseason, as the Panthers dominated the first half, and went on to a 2-0 win over the Vikings.
“Our seeding is Sunday, and both Evergreen and Toledo Christian, who we play next, are in our district,” said Triana. “We said, ‘Hey this is a must-win if we would like to be seeded pretty high.’ I think this win helps us get that better seed.”
The Vikings’ Ellie Nash turned away a number of Panther scoring chances in the first 20 minutes, two of which were attempted by Adrianna Dunning with 32 minutes left in the half and again 10 minutes later, as Nash made good saves.
However, with 19:25 to go, it was Dunning who broke through. A high lofting upfield ball cleared the Viking defenders, and Dunning outraced everyone to the sphere and knocked one into the net to give Delta a lead.
With 3:42 left in the half, the Panthers got some insurance. In a scrum in front of the Viking net after a corner kick, McKenzie Kruger was the last to get a foot on the ball, and it rolled into the net for the game’s second score.
Evergreen had a golden chance a minute later. Alivia Mitchey came inside the Panther back line and beat Panther goalie Ryllie Taylor to the ball.
However, with Taylor in the way, Mitchey’s elevated shot hit the crossbar, came straight down, and when Taylor corralled it, she was ruled not to be in the net, and Delta kept the two-goal lead.
Evergreen had opportunities in the second half thanks to a trio of free kicks from around the football 20-yard line.
Sophia Goodson’s shot was snared by Taylor with 34 left, then Addy Gleckler had one go just high four minutes later.
Gleckler’s second free kick was cradled by Taylor with 15 minutes on the clock to preserve the shutout. “Honestly, I think it was a tale of two halves,” Triana said. “I think after the first, we came out flat-footed.
“I’ll give it up to Evergreen because they came out in the second half and were very tenacious. They wanted to win the ball where I don’t think our girls did at times.”
Delta (8-5-1, 3-1-1 NWOAL) – Goals: Adrianna Dunning, McKenzie Krueger
Evergreen (4-7-1, 2-3-1 NWOAL) – no statistics