Wednesday, March 7, 2001
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Wednesday, March 7, 2001 |
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Fayette County boys and girls start soccer season right By MICHAEL BOYLAN The Lady Tiger Soccer teams defeated the Lady Wild cats from Lovejoy by a score of 12-0 in both the Varsity and Junior Varsity games last week. This game was the Varsity team's Home and Sub-Region opener. They came out strong and were up 4-0 after seven and a half minutes. Crystal Rene de Cotret and Megan Wolfe got one goal a piece while Ashley Kirkwood notched two goals. After that, the Lady Tigers started to empty their bench and scored three more goals to finish the half 7-0. Normal starting goalkeeper Cassie Coggins came on as a field player to score two goals before the half and Jennifer Puckett got the other. The Lady Tigers found the net five more times in the second half with goals by Coggins, Kirkwood, Puckett, and two by Rene de Cotret. In all, the Tigers shelled the Lady Wildcats with a 51-0 edge in shots. In all, Kirkwood, Rene de Cotret, and Coggins each had a hat trick. The Junior Varsity started the night at 5:30 with a resounding 12-0 victory in which they did not face a Lovejoy shot or corner kick. The score was 6-0 at the half after a hat trick by Freshman Rachel McBride. Six other Lady Tigers scored one goal apiece to bring the final to 12-0. This was the third game of the Junior Varsity season. They had previously beaten LaGrange 9-0 and lost to Upson-Lee 6-1. On Friday night the Lady Tiger varsity team took to the pitch in Tiger Stadium to face the Jonesboro Lady Cardinals. In the end, they took home a lot of missed opportunities, as well as a great deal of mud and rain water. Both teams were looking to establish themselves against quality in-state opposition. The Lady Tigers were without three players: 2000 All-region defender Rachel Frazier (Qudraceps), Freshman forward Megan Wolfe (illness), and Senior Diana Petro who had suffered a torn ACL in practice. The field conditions at Tiger Stadium were less than could be desired, as the week of home games and rain had done obvious damage to the field. The JV game was played through constant rain in the first half. A respite came from the rain in the second half of the Junior Varsity game but it picked back up as soon as the Varsity game commenced. The first half was very even, play alternated halves of the field frequently. Tiger goalkeeper, Coggins, was hardly troubled on the two shots Jonesboro managed. Christine Wix fired one shot for the Tigers that required a fine diving save from the Jonesboro net-minder. It seemed that the two foes were feeling each other out. The second half was a different story. The Tigers took eight shots on the Cardinal net versus one against the Tigers. The Tigers kept the pressure on and for long periods, the Cardinals failed to reach half-field. However, try as the Tigers did, their earlier goal scoring woes continued. Early in the second half the Tigers lost Crystal Rene de Cotret, one of their leading scorers this season with three goals in four games, to a concussion. Still, the Lady Tigers pressed and pressed, but a goal would not come. The second half ended with the score still 0-0 and overtime ahead. In the first overtime, the Tigers continued to press but by this point the field had turned more into a swimming pool than a soccer field. Standing water was all over the field and both teams had trouble moving the ball with any accuracy or control. Both sides managed a few opportunities but none that amounted to any goals. After the two ten minute overtime periods, the game ended deadlocked at no goals for either side. The Tigers held the edge in shots 10-4 and corner kicks 8-0 but couldn't get the one statistic that really matters, a goal. Lady Tiger Head Coach Allen Leonard said after the game, "This was one of those games where every person on the team came out and left everything they had on the field. It's unfortunate that we just couldn't hit the back of the net." The tie left the Lady Tigers at 3-1-1 for the season moving into the toughest Stretch of games before spring break. The Lady Tigers faced North Gwinnett last night at 7 p.m. in Tiger Stadium and will travel to take on Sprayberry on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Fayette County boys team went undefeated and unscored upon in the Newnan Cougar Classic 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 an 11-0 win over North Clayton. 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. The boys will host Lovejoy on Friday at 7:30 p.m. In other action this week, Starr's Mill's boys hosted Mt. Zion, Jonesboro last night and will host Forest Park at 6 p.m. on Friday. McIntosh's boys and girls hosted Riverdale on Tuesday and will play at Newnan on Friday. The girls will play at 5:30 p.m. and the boys will play at 7:30 p.m. |
