LINDEN – North Montgomery's girls soccer team scored three second-half goals to defeat Southmont 4-1 in a county and Sagamore Conference matchup.
The Chargers, who move to 4-1 overall ad 2-0 in the conference, actually scored the last four goals after the Mounties, who fall to 1-2 and 0-2, scored first.
“I thought we controlled the game pretty well,” North coach Julie Hodges said. “We played 80 solid minutes, and finished the game strong with two late goals. We were wearing them down, and our defense played their best half of soccer this year in the second half.”
“It was a competitive game,” Mounties coach Phil Keller said. “They did a good job playing to their strengths. The credit goes to them.”
Both teams scored quickly, giving a very good crowd for both teams plenty to cheer about.
Marissa Craig scored on an assist from Elle Gray for South three minutes into the match, and Sidney Campbell scored her eighth goal of the season two minutes later to knot the score.
It was 55 more minutes before the Chargers scored when Teegan Bacon went half the field with a steal to score unassisted.
Campbell and Bacon combined for the next North goal. It was Campbell on the corner kick and Bacon putting it in the net. It was Campbell's fourth assist of the season and Bacon's ninth goal.
Nina Gable finished the scoring with an unassisted goal late.
“Bacon and Campbell complement each other,” Hodges said. “They work well together and find each other on the field. Last Saturday at Western Boone, they did the same thing, except Bacon headed it in. They are a awesome combo.”
“We have a really young defensive line,” Keller said. “There is a good future for that defense – we just have to put in the work. We had a lot of good possessions tonight, but we struggled the last 20 minutes. We have to continue to build off the good that we saw and finish some shots.”
South finished with six shots on goal against Chargers goal keeper Sydnee Turner.
“Our defense has been struggling,” Hodges said. “We have talked a lot about it, and it was nice to see it on the field, especially in the second half. We got excellent games tonight defensively from Kelsey Anderson, Jillian Sommer, Caitlin burns, Gracen Schwabe and Makayla Johnson. We didn't give South many chances, and in a county matchup, with all the emotions and intensity, you don't want to give them many chances.”
The Chargers get a piece of revenge to go with a good start to the season.
“We lost to both WeBo and South in close matches,” Hodges said. “I'm really proud of the girls as a unit. It takes all 25 on the team to win. They never give up, not once.”
The crowd was even treated to a second-half flyover, as about 75 geese, who had been doing little over in a practice field, took flight and flew over the match as the second half was just starting.
The squadron of greys, who are also credited with a flyover during the National Anthem at the Chargers football game last Friday, circled back to their practice field and eventually left when it started to rain a bit harder.
The Mounties will honor their seniors Thursday with a home match against Danville.
The Chargers are idle until next Tuesday, when they play Benton Central.
