HEARTBREAK AT HARRISON
Boy’s and Girl’s Varsity Teams Lose in Penalty Kicks
In the first match of the evening, the Lady Lions gave last year’s AAAAA state champs a run for their money, but came up just short losing in a penalty kick shoot out 4-2. “The girls played hard this evening,” said Coach Bill Holleman. “This was a good early season test for us. We have some work to do, but we can build on this effort.”
The Lions went down early on a first half goal by Harrison. In the second half Peachtree Ridge turned up the heat in the midfield. With great play and high pressure by Macey Raines and Shelby Jennings, the advantage shifted to the Lions for extended periods. Their efforts were finally rewarded when sophomore Phoebe Palmer tee’d up a 35 yard shot that beat the Harrison keeper. The goal was Palmer’s first of the season and locked the Lion’s into a back and forth battle that would ultimately go to overtime and Penalty Kicks.
“To hold such a high scoring offense to a single goal, we have to be proud of our defense tonight,” stated Holleman. “Graham Green, Olivia Hall, Heather Bowman, Esther Cano, Cosette Morche' and Katey Lippitt all played well. Graham seemed to stop every attempt on her side of the field and really did a great job against the much bigger Harrison attacking players. Katey was our leader back there again tonight, as she always is, and her positive attitude always serves her team and teammates well.”
The boy’s game pitted the #7 ranked Hoyas against the #8 ranked Lions in key AAAAA match up for the early season. For the Lions, the game seemed eerily similar to last year’s Wheeler contest in the first round of the playoffs. The Lions dominated play, controlled much of the possession, and outshot the Hoyas 17 to 3, but the Lion’s failure to convert quality chances led to the Hoyas still having a chance late in the game. Sometimes a chance is all you need, and on this night that proved to be the case.
The Lions opened the scoring in the first half on a beautiful goal by Senior Juan Herrera. “Juan’s play was stellar tonight,” noted Coach Ryan Sutton. “He and Raul Diaz worked well together and really controlled the middle of the field. His goal was a thing of beauty.”
Herrera’s goal was the result of a series of combinations started in the Lion’s end of the field on a JT Taplin throw in. JT’s throw was controlled by Jeremy Rector who combined with Ryan Fitton to beat his man and break free down the right sideline. Rector’s cross into the box found Kevin Zuluaga, who played a nice drop to Herrera. Herrera then passed the ball to Fitton at the top of the box, and made a mad dash for the goal. Fitton’s return pass caught Herrera at full stride and he unleashed a low rocket to the far corner of the goal past the Harrison keeper.
While the chances kept coming, the goals did not. Despite multiple attempts, the Lions inability to finish would come back to haunt them. With 50 seconds left in regulation and the Lions leading 1-0, the Hoyas were awarded a free kick. The ball was spotted on the right side of the field about 30-yards from goal. The ensuing shot found the back of the net between the outstretched arms of Lion keeper Daryl Sack and the crossbar, ultimately sending the game to overtime and penalty kicks. The Hoyas prevailed in penalty kicks 3-1.
Tag(s): Lions News
