The Liberty County Panther soccer teams opened up their regular season Tuesday by hosting Pierce County on a frigid evening at Donell Woods Stadium.
The Liberty girls’ team started strong, but fell, 4-1. Just a few minutes into the game, sophomore Lady Panther Jennifer Garcia scored her first goal of her high-school career.
Lady Panther coach Jarvis McArthur credited senior defender Lynda Jimenez with keeping Pierce County out of goal range for the first 35 minutes of play. Just before the half, Pierce County knocked in a goal mainly by chance.
The coach said, however, that Pierce adjusted to his defense by the second half of regulation, which allowed them to score two quick goals. Pierce punched in one more goal en route to the win.
The coach said he was pleased with junior players Rebecca Nelson, Janea White, Erykah Brown and Myesha Robinson.
The score from the boys’ game was not available.
The Panthers will host Toombs County starting at
5 p.m. Tuesday.
The Bradwell teams started their season on the road Tuesday in Brunswick. The boys claimed a 2-0 win, while the girls lost, 2-0.
Boys’ soccer coach Tom Oglesby said his team worked hard earning the 2-0 win against the Pirates.  
“We did an excellent job of keep the ball in our attacking third of the field,” the coach said. “However we still need to improve on scoring goals from outside the 18-yard box.”
Oglesby said he told his players to leave their comfort zone and take shots from farther out.
“And about 20 minutes into the second half, we got our first goal by senior Sergio-Ortega Gonzales off of a pass by senior Cameron Riles. Then, we got our second goal a few minutes later by sophomore Justus Hofmann,” he said.
The Lady Tigers played with great effort, said head coach Scott Akin, but gave up a late goal that gave the home team a two-goal cushion.
According to the Tigers’ schedule, they host Calvary Day School at Olvey Field next Tuesday. The girls’ game is at 5 p.m. with the boys’ game to follow.