NEW MARKET — Saturday afternoon’s most often feature soccer double-headers and that was the case over the weekend as Southmont boys and girls soccer teams hosted the Covington Trojans for a boy/girl double-header. When the final horn sounded at the conclusion of the girls game, Covington would come away with a sweep of the Mounties as the boys fell 5-0 while the girls were bested in 2-0 loss.
Boys make progress in loss
The Mountie boys have been dealt a difficult hand this season. With only 13 players on their roster, most of their starters play a full 80 minutes. The game against the Trojans was the fourth game in seven days for the Mounties and early on it looked as if the game would be a nail-biter. The Trojans scored the lone goal of the first half with 15 minutes left by Landon Herzog.
As the game went on the tired legs of the Mounties started to show and Covington would add three goals in the second half in a 11 minute span to pull away. Despite the loss coach Stephanie Kennedy saw positives from the game.
“We saw those little things that we’ve been working like connecting passes and that was good to see,” she said. “I think what hurt us today was we just had some defensive lapses and that comes with having some new guys out there who are learning on the spot. It’s been a long week for us and I think those tired legs are hurting us defensively. I was proud of how we played in that first half and that’s the main thing I’m taking away.”
The Mounties with the loss fall to 1-5 on the season and will now prepare for their first county matchup of the year on Monday when they are back at home hosting North Montgomery. The last two seasons the Mounties have blanked the Chargers by a combined score of 8-0, but Kennedy knows that anything can happen when the two county rivals square off and her team will have to come ready to play.
“County matchups are always fun,” she said. “I’m hoping with it being county that our guys come out a higher level than what we’ve been. A win against North, and a win in general would go a long way on Monday for our mentalities. We know we have the potential and skillsets to play well and a win would go a long way in proving that.”
Lady mounties drop battle with trojans
For the Lady Mounties they battled for a complete 80 minutes against the Trojans but just weren’t able to get a goal across as they were shutout for the first time this season in their 2-0 loss. Isabella Lynch got the Trojans on the board in the final minutes of the first half. The Mounties had multiple chances to get on the board, but the Trojan defense held strong and with seven minutes left in the game, Lynch made it 2-0 Covington as she converted a penalty kick which sealed the win.
“We came in slow and the first half wasn’t our best showing,” first-year Mountie coach Roger Azar said. “Near the end of the first half we began to increase our pressure and to begin the second half the girls were really fired up and we had some chances, but after that we fell asleep again. We have to do a better job of keeping the tempo up and playing fast paced. It’s a tough loss for sure.”
The loss for the Mounties is just their second of the season as they fall to 4-2 on the year. Azar did credit the Trojans for earning what was a hard fought victory.
“They simply out-played us today and I’m not going to take anything away from them,” he said. “They earned it and kept the pressure on us all game. We just didn’t respond the way we needed to.”
Southmont will now get ready for their first county matchup of the season as they will travel to North Montgomery on Tuesday with county bragging rights on the line.
“It doesn’t matter who the opponent might be, after this game our girls will never take another game for granted,” Azar said. “I think there was a little bit of that in this game and came back to bite us. We prepare to be a good team and where we end up in the county and in the conference is based on how hard we play.”
