LINDEN — Usually when our area soccer teams match up in county soccer, especially the Mounties and Chargers, it usually provides a thrilling game till the very end. That was not the story on Tuesday as the Chargers and Mounties squared off in a county soccer double-header at North Montgomery. The girls got things going first and the Mounties after falling behind 2-1 would go on to dominate the second half and pull away for a 6-2 victory. The boys game, which would be called with around nine minutes left due to darkness, was the Mounties from the get to as they steam-rolled their county rival 8-0.
Lady Mountie offense shines in second half
Roger Azar is thriving in his first season at the helm of the Southmont girls soccer program. The first-year coach never gets too high or too low with his team and knows they’ll listen to every word he says.
After Teegan Bacon had put the Chargers up 2-1 roughly half way through the first half, Azar made a defensive change to constantly put two defenders on the Chargers star. Along with that change and the offensive talent being on full display for the Mounties, the would go on to score the final five goals of the game to pick up the 6-2 county and conference victory. Sophomore Jessica Hale scored a last second first half goal to put the Mounties up 3-2 and they rode that momentum into the second half.
“This win means a lot to the team, means a lot to the coaches, and means a lot to our school,” Azar said. “We had a conversation about how badly do you want this game. Our girls took that message to heart and played very hard and I’m really proud of them.”
Hale led the way for the Mounties with three goals in the win. Elle Gray added another two and Jada Graves scored the final Mountie goal with a penalty kick at the 17-minute mark of the second half.
With the elite scoring ability of so many different players, Southmont’s offense when it’s rolling can be a difficult one to contain. Azar noted how versatile and effective his offense was in their big county win.
“We have a great team of offensive players and so many different weapons we can use,” he said. “Lillie is almost unstoppable when she gets into it, Jessica and Elle are both fantastic players, and Alivia Williams has been distributing the ball beautifully in the field. I’m going to give another shout out to Emma Phillips who was always in the right place at the right time tonight.”
Bacon scored both of the Charger goals in the loss for her 10th and 11th goals of the season which bring her to 79 in her career.
Charger coach Julie noted how the two late goals by the Mounties to end the second half proved to be the difference in the game as momentum completely swung into Southmont’s favor.
“That’s exactly what I told the girls afterwards,” Hodges said. “After that point everything began to shift their way. Coming in we preached playing with intensity and we did that at the beginning of the game. Our defense did a much better job in the first half, but in the second half I felt like we were constantly playing in a defensive mode when we needed to score.”
Hodges also mentioned and credited the Mountie offense for being so diverse. She notes how for her defense which many features many new faces can use this game also as a learning experience for the rest of the season.
“South attacks you from all angles,” she said of the Mountie offense. “It’s hard to defend that when we’re still trying to teach our defense and they’re learning as they go. Every single time they (South) brings something a little different so it’s hard to teach our girls against that, but this is definitely a learning experience for us. This is a very long season and even if we’re taking small steps forward, it will work out in the end.”
The Chargers with the loss fall to 1-4 (0-3 SAC) on the season. They will now get ready to travel to Twin Lakes on Thursday.
The Mounties improve their record to 5-2 and stay a perfect 3-0 in the SAC. They’ll look to make it 4-0 in the ever-tough Sagamore Conference when they host Danville on Thursday.
Mountie boys capture county sweep
Southmont’s offense has improved leaps and bounds from a year ago. That offense was on full display against the Chargers as six different players put a ball in the back of the net in the 8-0 rout of their county rival.
Hunter Gray scored the first two goals of the game for Southmont then around the 22-minute mark of the first half Logan Link fired a missile from distance which gave the Mounties a 3-0 advantage. Skyler Wood joined Gray with a pair of goals and Lucas Oppy, Skyler Petroski, and Samuel Becerril all got in on the scoring action.
“I really appreciate having a game like tonight,” Mountie coach Stephanie Kennedy said. “It’s always fun to play one of your county rivals and I think this game can really boost our morale and confidence. We did a much better job of connecting our passes and finding space. I’m hoping we can take this into our next game on Thursday and keep progressing in the right direction.”
For the Chargers the loss drops their record to 1-6 on the season and 0-3 in the Sagamore Conference.
Despite the loss coach Tristian Hall saw bright spots for his team and mentioned how the scoreboard didn’t dictate how he saw his team play. “It’s still a learning process for some of our guys who are playing their positions for the first time,” he said. “In the first half I thought we left a lot of opportunities out there on the field that we could’ve finished on. We have some guys who are battling injuries who are battling injury and are still playing through them. I thought the score was close even though it said 8-0, we just need to finish more of our shots.”
The Mounties improve to 2-5 (1-2 SAC). They will make the trip to take on North Putnam on Thursday as they look to make it two straight wins.
