Wednesday, February 28, 2001
|
Wednesday, February 28, 2001 |
|
Soccer teams are tested in tournaments By MICHAEL BOYLAN Starr's Mill's boys and girls soccer teams and Fayette County High School's boys and girls soccer teams played in tournaments last weekend to sharpen their skills for what is sure to be a demanding season. The Lady Panthers only got to play one game in the Brookwood tournament as their game with St. Pius was cancelled due to inclement weather. The Lady Panthers played to a 0-0 tie against Brookwood and will not play until March 6, when they travel to Jonesboro. The boys got their two games in. They defeated South Gwinnett 2-0. Brandon Henry and Robert Cooper each had a goal and an assist. In the second game, Starr's Mill lost to Brookwood 3-1. Eric Matlaga scored the lone goal for the panthers off an assist from Henry. Starr's Mill (1-2) hosted Harrison last night and will host Fayette County at 8 p.m Friday. The Fayette County Lady Tiger soccer team finished with two victories and one loss in the Newnan Cougar Classic this weekend. The Tigers defeated two of the three teams from Alabama in attendance with wins against Mountain Brook 3-1, Homewood 2-0, and a loss to Oak Mountain, 3-0. The Lady Tigers entered the weekend with spirits high after a successful showing at the Upson-Lee Jamboree the previous weekend. Friday, the Lady Tigers faced Homewood in the opening game of the tournament. They came out strong, getting a goal from Lydia Sherwin in one of seven shots in the first half. Amy Eller assisted Sherwin on the goal. The Lady Tigers were dominating Homewood, as evidenced by Lady Tiger goal keeper Cassie Coggins not having to make a save in the entire game. In the second half, the Lady Tigers did everything right except put the ball in the back of the net. They got an insurance goal from Ashley Kirkwood off a pass from Jennifer Puckett. They finished the game with a 22-0 edge in shots and a 19-0 edge in corner kicks. This match gave the Lady Tigers six tournament points, three for the win, two for the goals and one for the shutout. Their next opponent was Mountain Brook, which had defeated Griffin the night before by a 2-0 score. This time, the Lady Tigers came out strong and early with three first half goals. Amy Eller stuck first off a pass from Sarah Oxford. Rachel Frazier then scored on a break-away thanks to a fine clearance by Jennifer Puckett. Crystal Rene de Cotret got the last goal from a crossing ball from Christine Wix that hit her in stride. Rene de Cotret took the shot from close range that hit nothing but the back of the net. The Lady Tigers finished the half up 3-0 with a 10-3 edge in shots. The second half went more toward Mountain Brook as they had four shots to the Lady Tigers' two. The Tigers were resting many of their key starters, as they knew the afternoon game would decide the tournament. Mountain Brook got one goal to bring the score to 3-1 but could get no closer. The final score gave the Lady Tigers six more tournament points, three for the win and three for the goals. Mountain Brook took the one goal they scored for one tournament point. The two wins had set up the Saturday evening match against Oak Mountain as the championship match. Oak Mountain had defeated Newnan 1-0 and Griffin 5-0 for 12 tournament points. The Lady Tigers also had 12 tournament points and had to win the match to win the tournament, while Oak Mountain could tie the match because they held the goals against tie-breaker. The game started slow, with neither team getting a goal before halftime. Oak Mountain drew blood about 15 minutes into the second half as one of their forwards got free inside the Lady Tigers' penalty box, received a crossed ball and finished the play, giving goalkeeper Cassie Coggins no chance to make the save. Play continued with the Lady Tigers pushing forward more and more, desperate to get a game-tying goal. With about 10 minutes left, the Lady Tigers replaced Coggins with junior Jodie Fleming to get Coggins, who had scored while playing on the field at Upson-Lee, into the attack. This gamble failed, however, as Oak Mountain got two goals in the last five minutes. The final was 3-0 and the Lady Tigers received no tournament points to Oak Mountain's seven. This result left the Lady Tigers in third place behind Oak Mountain with 19 points and Mountain Brook, whom the Lady Tigers had defeated handily earlier in the day, with 13 points to the Lady Tigers, 12. While the Lady Tigers had been playing Oak Mountain, Mountain Brook had defeated Newnan 3-2 on a penalty kick in the last five minutes. That goal gave Mountain Brook the win and six points to make its total 13. The Lady Tigers left the tournament disappointed about the outcome but upbeat about the upcoming season. The Lady Tigers meet Lovejoy Wednesday for their home and subregion opener, then Jonesboro at home Friday. Wednesday's game will be at 7:30 p.m. and Friday at 8 p.m. JV games will precede each match. The Lady Tigers will then enter a stretch in which they face four top ten teams in five games. McIntosh's girls finally got their region schedule going Friday as they hosted Lovejoy. The Lady Chiefs, which have not lost a region match in four years, defeated Lovejoy 16-0. Keri Pendergrass led the team in scoring with five goals and one assist, while Julie Herdic had three goals and three assists. McIntosh hosted East Coweta last night and will host Riverdale Tuesday, March 6. Sandy Creek also is excited about its team's performance. The boys went 1-2 in the jamboree at the beginning of the season. They defeated Callaway High School 6-0, but lost to LaGrange 3-0 and East Coweta 1-0. The Patriots played in the jamboree without four of their regular players and freshman Eric Cranford in the goal. Regarding Eric Cranford, Coach Barry Davis said, "He played better in each game and will handle all of the junior varsity's goal keeping duties this season, while also seeing some varsity action." Both the boys and girls varsity teams faced Westlake Tuesday. |
