Despite a tough battle, the boys and girls of Liberty’s soccer teams came up one and three goals short, respectively, Friday. The Panther girls lost 2-1 and the boys lost 3-0 against the Baldwin Braves at Donell Woods Stadium.
The Lady Braves scored first, but Lady Panther Samantha Gonzales tied the game at one before intermission.
"Sam is playing much better this year," Lady Panther coach Jarvis McArthur said. "I think that was her third or fourth goal this year. She is doing much better this season."
In the second half, the Lady Braves were able to score a second goal to win 2-1.
"We had an opportunity to score, but we just couldn’t finish," the coach said. "That’s a big problem we are having, finishing games. I have to give credit to their player she made a nice shot. She beat a couple of our defenders and she made a nice shot and there was nothing the keeper could do about it."
The coach added he is proud his defense allowed only two goals but said, "It’s a tough loss when you lose 2-1."
He said he would like to see better play out of his forwards and midfield to score more goals.Lady Panther Diamone Johnson got her first chance to play goalie.
"I don’t fault her on the goals because our defense broke down both times when they scored," the coach said. "She made some good saves and I think with a little bit more time she will come around. She has that ability. She is quick, she has great ball sense and I think she is going to come around."
For the boys, the Braves scored their first goal 18 minutes into the first half. A breakdown before intermission allowed the Braves to score two more goals within a span of a minute to go up 3-0. They held off the Panthers to stay ahead for the win.