Soccer season heats up with region matches

Newnan opened the Lady Cougar Classic with a 1-0 loss to Oak Mountain (AL) Friday night in an evenly matched contest.

Oak Mountain scored the lone goal of the game in the 14th minute on a shot from outside the 18 that the keeper, Nicole Maddox, got her hands on but just couldn't keep out of the net.

After Friday night's disappointing loss Newnan rebounded with a 5-0 thrashing of Homewood (AL), last year's 6A AL state quarterfinalist. Amanda Morton exploded with four goals in her dual role of forward and midfield as the Lady Cougars finally found their scoring touch. She scored on one play in which the Homewood defense gifted her possession and another in which her own shot bounced off the inside of the far post for her to finish. This rebounded shot put the Lady Cougars ahead 1-0 at the half. In the second half the flood gates opened.

Morton was also on the finishing end of two Lanie Scott passes within five minutes to push the lead to 3-0 with just under twenty minutes left in the match. A poor clearance by Homewood gifted Newnan a fourth as Sister Edge placed her shot just out of the keeper's reach. Morton again picked the defense clean with just under two minutes to play for the final tally. Keepers Nicole Maddox and Jenny Brown combined on the shut out.

The Lady Cougars could not find their legs in their final match and fell behind 2-0 after eight and a half minutes to Mountain Brook; however, Newnan did not lose heart.

Edge set Morton up nicely four minutes later to cut the lead to 2-1 for Mountain Brook. That is how it stayed at the half and for a while it looked like it might be the final tally. Yet, with just over sixteen minutes left, Edge stepped it up. After the Lady Cougars won a corner, Asher played a perfect ball to the near post that Edge rushed to meet and then headed past the unsuspecting keeper. The goal was seen by many as the goal of the tournament.

Newnan had the momentum and was pouring on the pressure when Lady Luck rolled the wrong way. An attempted shot struck a Cougar defender as she covered her chest with the referee ruling deliberate handball. Mountain Brook made certain from the spot with seven minutes remaining and closed the door on any further comeback. The loss was particularly disheartening after fighting back for the tie just minutes earlier. The loss left Newnan fourth in the tournament while pushing Mountain Brook to second place honors.

The Lady Cougars began their sub area schedule with a storm, both figuratively and literally, Tuesday night.

While the rain fell continuously from kick off to the final horn, the Newnan women's soccer team exploded for a 9-0 win over Eagle's Landing on Tuesday night. The Lady Cougars were led by Lanie Scott's seven goals with four coming in the first half. Scott scored in a variety of ways with assists from Katie Owens (3), Edge (2), Patricia Ballantyne (1), and Ashlie Rowland (1).

Next up for the Lady Cougars is a trip to Douglas County Monday at 5:30.

Last weekend's Newnan Cougar Classic also saw the Fayette County boys team go undefeated and unscored upon to retain the title of tournament champions for the second consecutive year. The Tigers defeated teams from Wetumpka, Al (7-0), Gadsden (5-0) and Oak Mountain (2-0).

The Tigers used the tournament as a tune-up for regular season play which began Tuesday with a win over North Clayton (11-0). While goal scoring resulted from strong performances by strikers Alex Crawford, Eric Vogl, Ryan Terry and midfielder Adam Lester, it was the ability to shutout other teams which made these wins decisive. Defenders Chris Kelley, Tyler House, Brian Collier, Rosman Deas and David Zak blanketed opposing offenses effectively allowing few real goal scoring opportunities. Standout play by senior keeper Matt Hunnewell preserved the shutouts with several spectacular saves.

Fayette County will play at Starr's Mill tonight at 8 p.m., while the Lady Tigers will host Jonesboro at 8 p.m.

McIntosh (2-0) hosted East Coweta (2-1) on Tuesday night and both the boys and girls were victorious. The Lady Chiefs won 16-1. Julie Herdic scored six goals while Tabitha Lowey and Keri Pendergrass scored four goals a piece. The Lady Indian's Elizabeth Brass scored their lone goal. It was the first time in the history of the series that east coweta has scored on McIntosh.

The McIntosh boys won 5-0. The chiefs had a 4-0 advantage going into the half, but East Coweta played solid defense in the second half and only allowed one more goal. Matt Clements recorded a hat trick while Allan Kinzly and Omar Jarun each scored one goal. McIntosh will be off until Tuesday evening, when they host Riverdale. East Coweta will be off until next Wednesday when the East Coweta tournament begins. Some teams entering the tournament are Sandy Creek, Northgate and LaGrange.

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