Wednesday, September 1 @ The Howard School (10-0 win)
This week’s away match was much closer to home against the AAC foe The Howard School Hawks. With most of the line up in place, there was work to be done. The Cougars scored early on a beautiful crossing pass from the left forward Aiden Spies into the penalty area where Aiden Briggs punched it into the goal. Daniel Byman followed with a score on a free kick and an unassisted goal. The Cougars held a comfortable 3-0 lead at half. Cougars were substituted into the rotation for the remainder of the game with all eligible players taking part in the action. The Cougar defense dominated the midfield allowing the Hawks few attacks and only one shot on goal, and the offense was extremely balanced with seven goals by five different Cougars. Anthony Kovach scored his first career soccer goal, and Gabriel Belden scored in his third straight game. The Cougars had no assists in the first two games, but today was the day the offense started to play off each other notching five assists. It was a good all-around effort in preparation for the upcoming match against Furtah Prep. Game Highlights: Daniel Byman – 4 goals & 3 assists, Aiden Briggs – 3 goals, Aiden Spies – 2 assists, Anthony Kovach – 1 goal, Braden Kramer – 1 goal, Gabriel Belden – 1 goal, Jack Kane – 1 save.
Friday, September 3 v. Furtah Preparatory (8-0 loss)
The Cougars second home match came against GISA powerhouse and number 1 ranked Furtah Preparatory. Again, the Cougars found themselves short-handed with seven player unavailable to participate. Taking a defensive stature, The Cougar defense limited the powerful Furtah offense to three goals giving up a fourth goal on a corner kick with seconds to go in the half. Half time score 4-0 in favor of Furtah Prep. Through the midpoint of the second half, the Cougars continued to thwart the Furtah Prep offense, but fatigue started to take its toll. Little by little, Furtah Prep increased its lead one goal at a time. The final score was not a true reflection of the tremendous defensive teamwork of Alex Hogg, Charles Young, Jack Kane, Jayden Bryant, Josh Abernathy and Sam Bayer. Anthony Kovach, Jackson Barnes and Weston Kershner played all 80 minutes without substitution which was quite a gutsy performance given the increased heated temperatures of the afternoon. Coach Hector and myself were very proud of their effort and expect it to pay dividends in the upcoming matches. Game Highlights: Gabriel Belden – 3 shots on goal, Aidan Briggs – 7 saves.
Upcoming games this week include two more GISA contests: away at Oak Mountain Academy (address is 222 Cross Plains Rd, Carrollton, GA 30116) Tuesday, 9/7 at 4:00 with expected return time of 8:00; and home against LaGrange Academy on Thursday, 9/9 at 3:15 with expected return time of 5:45.
