Soccer Cougars Fall To GMC

The Piedmont Academy varsity soccer teams battled GMC recently as the Lady Cougars fell 2-1 in a closely contested match.

Tied 1-1 at half, GMC managed the lone second half goal for the win. Caitlyn Young scored the lone goal for the Lady Cougars.

“The girls played great Friday,” said coach Michael Wilson. “We were short-handed and only had one sub but the effort was there and to be honest so was the play. We gave up a goal in the last three minutes of each half. Otherwise I felt we controlled the game.”

Wilson did some shuffling of the lineup to try and take advantage of the players he had.

“It could be that I moved some players back to help out defensively and in the end it hurt our attack,” he said. “That’s something I’m going to not do the rest of the way. We are going to attack and counter-attack and utilize our speed and power.”

Young’s goal was another one of her typical scores. She connected on a free kick from 45 yards out.

“Their keeper didn’t stand a chance,” Wilson said. “She’s a lot of fun to watch and is as good as any player we will see this year. She, Emily Mills and Alexis Dodson had fantastic game huge factors in this team’s improvement. It was disappointing dropping our first region game but if we keep playing with the same intensity, we have a chance at a three or four seed in the region.”

There were offensive opportunities in the second half but the team wasn’t able to cash in.

“I was pleased with the way the girls handled half time and came out and executed what was asked of them,” Wilson said. “It’s a sign they are listening and trusting one another on the field. Sydney Davis and Emily Mills had a couple of good opportunities late in the game and they came up with the save as did Caitlyn. Defensively the entire group played well especially Morgan Whitely and Cassidy Cook in goal. Cassidy is another first-year keeper we have and she simply played a great game against GMC.”

The varsity boys fell to GMC 6-0.

“The boys are continuing to play much improved soccer from last year,” Wilson said. “Ian Boyd had a great game for us and helped to limit GMC’s threats. GMC was a very good team we faced and we were able to hang in for longer than we would have previously.”

Piedmont did not have much success offensively, however.

“We struggled to get the ball upfield against their midfield but made progress and had some opportunities,” Wilson said. “Trent Coots and Dylan Coe are working hard upfront and good things will come to them as long as they continue to work. Defensively we were led by Talon Anglin, Jackson Waddleton, Logan Conner and Rustin Starker as well as Brett Bush, who turned in another great game in goal.”