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Lady Tigers, Devils prevail
Apr 13, 2005 11:18 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
For the past several seasons, the Darlington Lady Tigers and Model Blue Devils have been among the elite soccer teams in Area 6-AA/A. On Tuesday night [April 12], they took a big step towards keeping themselves at the top, as Darlington's girls clinched the area championship with a 3-1 win over the Lady Devils and Model's boys remained unbeaten in area play with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Tigers.
"We were a young team coming into the season, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect," said Darlington coach Steve Hall. "But the freshmen we're playing this year have showed so much maturity and enabled us to e xcel this year."
With the victory, the Lady Tigers (12-1-2, 8-0-1) have now won six straight matches and are 11-0-2 in their last 13.
But it was Model (9-4, 6-1) that had the better chances early on, just missing several shots in the first 20 minutes. Darlington finally got the scoring going in the 23rd minute when Lauren Mauer took a direct kick that Model keeper Katie King deflected to the Lady Tigers' Brennen Riddle, who put in the rebound to put the Lady Tigers up 1-0.
Bethany Blevins scored eight minutes after King made two point-blank saves and the Lady Tigers led 2-0 at halftime.
"We got down in the first half and it took us out of our rhythm," said Model girls coach Rob Hall. "We played better in the second half, but it wasn't enough."
Model got back to within 2-1 in the 43rd minute when Jessica Bohannon scored off a Lacey Pelfrey cross. But Darlington took control soon after and the Lady Devils never really had a chance to tie the match.
The Lady Tigers added an insurance goal in the 78th minute when Blevins took a long shot that King stopped, but Riddle was there to blast home the rebound again and make it 3-1 Darlington.
"I never was comfortable," said Steve Hall. "Model had some good chances, but we made the most of the opportunities we had, especially in the first half."
The boys match was extremely physical, with 26 fouls called and three yellow cards handed out.
Darlington (8-5-1, 4-2-1) started the scoring in the 10th minute when William Richardson took a pass from Davis Grizzard and blasted it into the lower right corner of the net to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Darlington led 1-0 at halftime and outshot the Blue Devils 10-4 in the opening 40 minutes.
The second half, however, would be all Model, as the Blue Devils outshot the Tigers 11-0 over the final 40 minutes. The Blue Devils tied the match at 1 in the 57th minute when Jeff Langley headed in a Rob Cowart direct kick.
Cowart — who left the match in the first half with concussion-like symptoms — would later get the match winner in the 73rd minute. Cowart got a pass from Langley and blasted a shot past Tiger goalie Will Watters into the lower right corner to give the ninth-ranked Blue Devils (9-2-1, 4-0) the win.
“We played well tonight,” said Cowart. “Darlington had a good team and this was a match where both teams gave it their best, but we came out on top. We were able to get some offense going once we figured out Darlington played their sweeper deep, so we had to stop playing long balls. We changed things up and were able to get some goals.”
Model now has 12 points, one behind Darlington in the area standings, but the Blue Devils have three area matches left to play, so they control their own destiny over the final week-plus of the regular season.
“We just have to take things one match at a time,” said Model coach Todd Gilleland. “But we have a veteran group of players and I know they’ll be focused every time we hit the field.”
Model’s girls visit LaFayette Thursday and Model’s boys host Calhoun Saturday at Grizzard Park. Darlington’s girls host Stone Mountain Saturday.
*Written by Joseph Myers, Rome News-Tribune Sports Writer, published 4/13/05
"We were a young team coming into the season, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect," said Darlington coach Steve Hall. "But the freshmen we're playing this year have showed so much maturity and enabled us to e xcel this year."
With the victory, the Lady Tigers (12-1-2, 8-0-1) have now won six straight matches and are 11-0-2 in their last 13.
But it was Model (9-4, 6-1) that had the better chances early on, just missing several shots in the first 20 minutes. Darlington finally got the scoring going in the 23rd minute when Lauren Mauer took a direct kick that Model keeper Katie King deflected to the Lady Tigers' Brennen Riddle, who put in the rebound to put the Lady Tigers up 1-0.
Bethany Blevins scored eight minutes after King made two point-blank saves and the Lady Tigers led 2-0 at halftime.
"We got down in the first half and it took us out of our rhythm," said Model girls coach Rob Hall. "We played better in the second half, but it wasn't enough."
Model got back to within 2-1 in the 43rd minute when Jessica Bohannon scored off a Lacey Pelfrey cross. But Darlington took control soon after and the Lady Devils never really had a chance to tie the match.
The Lady Tigers added an insurance goal in the 78th minute when Blevins took a long shot that King stopped, but Riddle was there to blast home the rebound again and make it 3-1 Darlington.
"I never was comfortable," said Steve Hall. "Model had some good chances, but we made the most of the opportunities we had, especially in the first half."
The boys match was extremely physical, with 26 fouls called and three yellow cards handed out.
Darlington (8-5-1, 4-2-1) started the scoring in the 10th minute when William Richardson took a pass from Davis Grizzard and blasted it into the lower right corner of the net to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Darlington led 1-0 at halftime and outshot the Blue Devils 10-4 in the opening 40 minutes.
The second half, however, would be all Model, as the Blue Devils outshot the Tigers 11-0 over the final 40 minutes. The Blue Devils tied the match at 1 in the 57th minute when Jeff Langley headed in a Rob Cowart direct kick.
Cowart — who left the match in the first half with concussion-like symptoms — would later get the match winner in the 73rd minute. Cowart got a pass from Langley and blasted a shot past Tiger goalie Will Watters into the lower right corner to give the ninth-ranked Blue Devils (9-2-1, 4-0) the win.
“We played well tonight,” said Cowart. “Darlington had a good team and this was a match where both teams gave it their best, but we came out on top. We were able to get some offense going once we figured out Darlington played their sweeper deep, so we had to stop playing long balls. We changed things up and were able to get some goals.”
Model now has 12 points, one behind Darlington in the area standings, but the Blue Devils have three area matches left to play, so they control their own destiny over the final week-plus of the regular season.
“We just have to take things one match at a time,” said Model coach Todd Gilleland. “But we have a veteran group of players and I know they’ll be focused every time we hit the field.”
Model’s girls visit LaFayette Thursday and Model’s boys host Calhoun Saturday at Grizzard Park. Darlington’s girls host Stone Mountain Saturday.
*Written by Joseph Myers, Rome News-Tribune Sports Writer, published 4/13/05
