Soccer Cougars Fall in Semifinals

The Piedmont Academy varsity boys soccer team advanced to the Final Four before being eliminated from the postseason Saturday a long way from home.

The Cougars fell to Frederica Academy 8-1 in St. Simons Saturday afternoon as the Cougars not only had to battle a team many believe will win state, but also 90 degree temperatures.

“It was obvious they were a better overall team, but we still had our chances,” said coach Dwain Landress. “We had our opportunities.”

The Piedmont team left for the match Friday afternoon after school.

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With the Cougar hotel headquarters set up less than two miles from the stadium, Landress took the players over a walk-through Friday evening. The game was moved to 2 p.m. Saturday, which was in the middle of the afternoon heat.

“Our scouting reports showed they had three super players and they did,” the coach said. “Everything they did went through the three of them.”

Trailing 5-0 at halftime, Piedmont continued to fight.

“We had some breakdowns in the first half,” Landress said. “The score could have easily been 3-1 instead of 5-0.”

As an indicator of how well his team played in areas, Landress noted Frederica’s “super three” all had yellow cards in the first half.

“We knew in the second half we had to keep battling and fighting through it,” Landress said. “We kept pressing and we didn’t give up.”

Nick Adamczyk scored Piedmont’s lone goal in the match. Bobby Mitchell was credited for his strong play despite being injured in the first half. Jeremy Wood, Davis Kimball and Samuel McGinnis were also praised for their efforts in the contest.

“Frederica has several seniors so I wouldn’t mind playing them again next year,” Landress said. “We will probably try to schedule them during the regular season. That will help us if we play them again in the playoffs.”