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Blue Tide beat Benedictine
soccer-ball-in-net

The last week has been a good time to be a fan of the Long County boys’ soccer team.
With home-field advantage Feb. 16, the Blue Tide beat Bacon County (0-3) 10-0 in an onslaught. Then, on Friday, they followed that win up by beating archrival Benedictine Military School 1-0.

Armando Orozco scored the winning goal against the Cadets (2-10).
The win over the Benedictine was sweetened for Long County because going into the game, Benedictine was ranked as the No. 3 AA team in the state by EuroSport.com.
Long County coach Paul Austin said the win was one of the biggest in school history.
“It is a huge win for us,” Austin said. “BC is always at the top of the state ranking and a very good team. It gives us much-needed confidence for a team as young as we are.”

The coach said his entire team played well, but several players had exceptional games.
“I’m so proud of my boys,” Austin said. “It was a very physical game. My guys are learning to stand up in the big games and compete. Our defense, and goalie Javien Sims had the game of his life. He played extremely well.”
With the win, Long County improved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in Region 2-AA.

During the week, the Lady Tide had some success, but struggled against nemesis St. Vincent’s Academy (3-0). Like the boys, the girls beat Bacon County (0-3) handily 11-0. But when they faced the No. 5 Saints, they looked like a different team, falling 7-1.
Katie Estill scored the lone Long County goal against SVA.
Lady Tide head coach Sabrina Caines said she still was proud of each girl’s effort.
“I think my girls played well against a difficult opponent,” Caines said. “Although this was a loss for us, I am very proud of my girls, we have made some progress.”

The coach said that as she watched the game, she saw one area to improve.
“We were definitely out-conditioned,” she said. “We need to work on speed and stamina.”
With the loss, the girls fell to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the region.

Tuesday, Long County played Groves in Garden City. The results from those games were not available by press time. Friday, Long County’s teams host Vidalia. The girls begin at 5 p.m., with boys to follow at 7.

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