BATTLE ON THE BORDER
Varsity Boys Win 2-1
Lady Lions Fall To Tigers 5-2
March 2, 2012: With storms on the horizon and a tornado watch in effect for most of Georgia and Alabama, both states contributed some of their best teams to the annual “Battle on the Border” soccer tournament hosted in Auburn, Alabama. The matches were attended by some of the best teams that both states had to offer.
In the men's bracket, the Lions, ranked 3rd in Georgia class AAAAA high school soccer drew the St. Paul Episcopal Saints, currently ranked 3rd in Alabama class AAAAA soccer. On the women's side, the Lady Lions, ranked 10th in the latest Georiga class AAAAA rankings, were matched against the Auburn High School Lady Tigers, ranked 7th in the class AAAAAA in Alabama.
In the men’s match, the Lions started strong and controlled much of the tempo during the first 20-minutes. “The guy’s moved the ball well and changed the point of attack throughout the match,” commented Lion Coach Ryan Sutton. “That kind of patience was what we needed against the Saints; they are strong, well coached team. With the weather in the area, we discussed keeping the ball on the ground and playing to feet. When we do that, good things happen.” The Lion’s had multiple early quality chances on frame, but it was in the 20th minute when a Daryl Sack outlet pass found Daniel Rodriquez on the sideline that the score line would first change. Rodriquez played a ball into the space on the right sideline that was kept in play by Lion junior forward Jeremy Rector with a Saints defender on his back. As he turned toward goal, the loan defender between Rector and his objective saw a “blur” as Rector passed the ball around the defender to himself and went to net. His finish beat the charging keeper “top shelf”, and Lions had the early 1-0 lead.
As the half went on, the Lion’s would see several quality chances. Juan Herrera hit a brilliant ball that was stopped by the Saints Keeper, and another Rector shot went just wide of the post. “Our defense played another strong match,” stated Sutton. “They did a good job knocking the ball around, switching the point of attack, and backing each other up.” Jake Siracusa started at right back, Grayson Guldenschuh and Michael Valenzuela patrolled the center, and Jack Winfrey anchored the right side. The Saints attackers were fast and strong, and they would come back with a goal of their own just before half, when the Saint’s left midfielder intercepted a pass and found the Saints forward in the center of the field. His run was strong, and he ripped a shot that ended up in the net even though it was partially blocked by Sack. “That was unfortunate,” said Sutton, “Daryl played him well, but they got the goal. That is how quickly things can change in high level soccer. It would have been easy to put our heads down, but when the guys went into half time, I could see the desire in their eyes.”
The second half saw the Lion’s step up the possession, and multiple opportunities came from various points of attack. With 8 minutes to go in the contest, Kevin Zuluaga and Rector broke up a Saint's rush at midfield. Rector looked up to see Herrera streaking toward goal in the middle of the field. His pass beat the defense as Herrera charged after the ball only to collide with the Saints keeper at the top of the box. As Herrera went down from the impact, the ball was cleared and picked up by Jack Winfrey who slid it into Rector who was following the play. “Jeremy was not going to be denied on that one,” stated Sutton after the game. With his back initially to goal, Rector was able to split the two central defenders before sidestepping the Saints left back and blasting a shot far post into the side netting for the 2-1 lead and eventual game winning goal. The assist was Lion defender Winfrey's third on the young season.
The Lion's got great work from Ryan Fitton and Raul Diaz in the midfield during the contest as they captained the offense. Lucas Raposo, Jordan Davis, and Joey Bittner also contributed to the win.
While the Lions were originally scheduled to play two games over the weekend, the second games were postponed because of the weather and predicted weather across both states. The teams will attempt to meet later in the season to finish the tournament.
Next up, the Junior Varsity Lions are at home against the North Gwinnett Bulldogs on Monday, March 5th, in their 3rd Region VII match of the year. The boys play at 5:45 p.m. and the girls kick off at 7:30 p.m.
The Varsity teams continue their non-region schedules as they take on the visiting Newnan Cougars on Tuesday, March 6th. The boys have the early contest at 5:30 p.m., and Lady Lions have the later start time at 7:30 p.m.
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