A bloody nose, injured ankle and banged up knee weren’t the only thing the Washington County had to contend with on the soccer field Saturday. They also had to deal with a 1-4 loss given to them by the Liberty County High School Lady Panthers.
Saturday’s game was a region victory, but the Lady Panthers know it will take more goals and wins in their next three games, all at home, to stay at four or better as the regular season draws to a close April 10.
"Right now we are sitting at fourth in the region," Lady Panther soccer coach Jarvis McArthur said. "We still didn’t play like we could and we have to be able to put up more than four goals. We had a lot of opportunities today."
Lady Panther Sam "Green Eggs" Gonzales scored a goal in the first half, tying the score at 1.
During the second half, Lady Panther Mystery Ellert got one in with a corner kick. Elyssa Lemapu kicked one from midfield that hit the goalie’s hand, but still went in. And Jenna Rountree scored one when the Yellow Jackets drew a call for illegal use of hands.
The second half lead allowed McArthur to substitute frequently and give the bench a chance to play. He said he has seen improvement but added his forwards need to produce more points.
"We can’t always depend on Lemapu to score all our goals," he said. "We have to score more goals. In order to finish second in the region, we have to beat West Laurens by more than three goals because they beat us 6-3 last time and we have to win against Baldwin."
The Lady Panthers are set to play three region games at home this weekend and next Saturday. They host Thomson at 7 p.m. Friday and West Laurens the following day. On April 4, they host Baldwin at 4 p.m. for their last home game of the season.
"Hopefully we will get some goals against Thomson on Friday and will play our best against West Laurens on Saturday," the coach said.
Earlier in the season, the Lady Panthers were juggling the goalkeeper position. The coach said it’s set for now.
"Right now, it’s Bailey Carmichael," he said. "She is new to the position and sport, but she has been doing a pretty good job."