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JV TEAMS SPLIT WITH MEADOWCREEK

03/01/2012, 6:00am EST
By Staff

JUNIOR VARSITY LION'S SPLIT GAMES WITH MEADOWCREEK

GIRL'S TAKE THE EARLY CONTEST 3-0

BOY'S LOSE 2-0 ON LATE GOALS

March 1, 2012: The Junior Varsity Lions played their second region matches of the season on Thursday night, with the girl’s earning a 3-0 victory, while the boy’s hard fought contest was taken by the Mustangs 2-0. Both games were exciting and entertaining soccer!

In the early contest, the Lady Lions put the hammer down from the initial kick and never looked back. Swarming waves of Lions kept the Mustangs on their heels throughout the match. “We accomplished a lot in tonight’s game,” said Lion Coach Lisa York, “we had many quality chances up top, we controlled the midfield, and when they were called upon our defense stood tall.”

The Lions would kick the scoring off when Taylor McMillan played a beautiful pass to Briana Bagnasco. Bagnasco cut toward the middle of the field at the top of the 18 and unleashed a “bender” around the Mustang defense that found the far corner of the goal. It was a great shot from distance. Following many similar quality chances, the Lion’s would strike again when McMillan’s corner kick was directed by Alice Yoon into the net for a 2-0 half time lead.

“While all the girl’s played well tonight,” commented York, “Taylor had a special game. She was on fire!” In a fitting end to the effort she expended during the match, it would be McMillan would net the Lion’s third and final goal. Controlling a low driven goal kick, McMillan side-stepped a Mustang defender and hit a low rocket toward the far post. The Mustang’s keeper got a hand on the shot, but it was too hot to handle, and it found the back of the net.

In the boy’s match, the pressure was on the Lion’s in the first half. Meadowcreek came out hard and fast, putting immediate pressure on the Lion defense and goal. “The Mustangs are a very talented team,” said Lion’s Coach Tyler LaFleur after the match, “we did a good job weathering the storm in the first half.” Lion Keeper Nick Gagne and the entire defensive back line of Joey Bittner, Michael Flynn, Colin BeVier and Daniel Mamame thwarted the barrage of runs and shots that would come their way.

On the counter-attack, the Lion’s would have several quality chances that should have been. In the middle of the first half, Junghyun Nam would break free with a quality chance. His point blank rip at goal was deflected on a tremendous save by the Mustang Keeper. Just a few minutes later, Nam's chip shot soundly beat the Mustang keeper only to trickle frustratingly wide of the far post. Again in the first, Bittner was perfectly positioned on a corner kick and his redirected effort was stopped by the Mustang keeper. With the ensuing outlet pass, the Mustangs charged up the field with Bittner in hot pursuit. “Joey had a great match,” said LaFleur, “he stopped attack after attack and pushed when he could offensively. He did about all we could ask him do.”

The Lion’s controlled the opening minutes of the second half as the momentum shifted ever so slightly in their favor. The next 20-minutes saw good quality back and forth soccer, but the Mustangs maintained their advantage in shots on goal. The Lion's would get a quality free kick from Cesar Adrianzen at the 20 minute mark that sailed just past the upper corner of the far post.

It was ultimately two of the last three shots of the game by Meadowcreek that would earn them the victory. With 12 minutes to go in the contest, a set piece from the far side of the field found an open Mustang who slotted the ball into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. As is often the case in a hard fought match when either team scores, the very next play was another cross that was headed into the back of the net with five minutes to go. The Lion’s finished the game strong and should be proud of the effort. “We left it on the field tonight, that’s about all you can ask,” noted LaFleur.

The Varsity Teams travel to Alabama this weekend to take on Hoover and Auburn High Schools in what promises to be some great soccer action. Due to inclement weather moving into the area, the games are now scheduled to be played back-to-back on Friday evening. The Boy’s first match kicks off at 5:00 p.m., while the Girl’s will kick off at 6:00 p.m. You can find directions from Peachtree High School here.

The Junior Varsity Lions return to action on Monday, March 5th, when they take on the North Gwinnett Bulldogs in more Region VII action at Lion Stadium. The Boy’s have the early match at 5:45 p.m., while the Girls play at 7:30 p.m. Don’t miss it!!

 

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