Chris Whitaker
AMERICUS — Worth County came to Americus on Tuesday and stole a pair of soccer matches.
After going up 1-0 on a Lily Ricketts goal in the 43rd minute, Worth County scored goals in the 59th and 67th minutes to edge the Lady Panthers 2-1.
Coach Coleman Price said success for his team came after moving Pooja Patel to goalie and making a few more changes to the lineup.
“Overall, it was really the best game our girls have performed all year long,” said coach Coleman Price. “They played more aggressive, and they stepped up the intensity. We solidified the defense by putting Pooja there. Even though she’s one of our better players handling the ball, it helped us put a little more speed on the field.”
Defensively, the Lady Panthers moved Katie Lee and Courtney Grimes to the starting defense at the beginning of the second half as the game was scoreless at the half.
“We call them enforcers; they went after the ball, and we had some hip-checking that we hadn’t had in a while,” said Price.
Even though the loss dropped the girls to 1-5, Price said this is a game they can build on.
“Playing the defense the way they did and becoming more aggressive each game — and we’re taking some of the drills in practice to the game — we’re seeing the things we need to improve on, and it’s paying off,” said Price.
Boys lose in final seconds
The Panthers won the teams’ earlier match 4-1, and Price said they came in a little over confident.
After Rhyan Smith’s goal in the 77th minute tied the game at 1-1, the Rams scored with six seconds left for a 2-1 win.
“It was just a total breakdown,” said Price. “Our sweeper was running even with their forward who scored the first goal, and they were right by each other pushing and bumping. The keeper tried to stay back instead of coming out, and he side-stepped the keeper and scored.
“It’s really disappointing for our guys. They came into the game with attitudes that they were going to beat them. Worth County came to play, and I kept telling my players you can’t take a team for what they are — they’re going to lace up the shoes and play like we do and play 100 percent. We’ve got to play with the same amount. They made adjustments at the first half, and at the end, they paid off.”
The Panthers are 3-3 on the season, and travel to Bainbridge on Friday before playing four matches next week. They host Thomas County Central on Monday, Hardaway on Tuesday and Monroe on Wednesday and pay back TCC with a trip to Thomasville on Friday.
“We’ll make a few adjustments — we’ve had a couple of injuries and disciplinary problems — to have more speed on the back to see if it works out within the next couple of weeks,” said Price. “The game Friday, Bainbridge and us are fighting for the three and four spots, and we still have the opportunity to get the second spot.”
