Lady Cougars Fall Short of Finals

The Piedmont Academy Lady Cougars soccer team faced a familiar postseason foe Tuesday and, in the end, fell a little short of advancing to the Final Four.

Piedmont fell 3-2 on the road to Heritage in the quarterfinal round, an outcome which was frustrating for players and coaches.

“We played a good game, but we came up a little short,” said coach Dwain Landress.

Using a new scheme designed for the match, the Lady Cougars took an early lead after Jordan Blackmon scored an unassisted goal in the opening minute.

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“We planned on scoring first, but we didn’t know it would be that quick,” Landress said. “We were also frustrating them with our defense even though we did not get any calls from the officials.”

After Heritage evened the score, Piedmont’s offense’s was back in attack mode.

“We had them on their heels,” Landress said. “We were on their side of the field most of the game.”

Hailey Burnham gave the Lady Cougars a 2-1 lead after a successful attempt from approximately 35 yards out. Piedmont took that lead into halftime.

The Lady Cougars had two players battling illness, who probably would not have played if the match not been in the playoffs.

“It was very hot and it was a very physical game,” Landress said. “We had two players come out with bloody noses.”

Heritage would convert two second half goals, the final one with less than 20 minutes to play, to survive and advance.

“The outcome was very disheartening,” Landress said. “Their coach told me every time we play them it is a battle. However, I felt we should have won and I feel maybe I let the girls down by not pushing the right buttons or making the right substitutions at the right time. You always second guess yourself and I will for weeks. That was probably the best team in the second so if we could have won, I think a state championship was possible.”

Heritage will move up to AAA next season. The Lady Cougars, meanwhile, remain in AA and will return a bulk of their roster.

“It will be hard to wait until next year to get it going again,” Landress said.

The Piedmont coach said Lanie King, Jenna Vella and Kacy Swart all played a great match Tuesday.

“Lynne Marie Edwards also played well,” Landress said. “She suffered an ankle injury in the second half but she had been all over the field for us.”

While Tuesday’s loss ended the season for the Lady Cougars, their coach said he knows they have their opponent’s respect.

“They know who we are,” the coach said.

The Piedmont Academy boys will attempt to advance to the state championship when they play at Frederica Saturday in St. Simons.

Landress said his team’s opponent is viewed as the best in AA although he said they are not unbeatable.