SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — A 70-minute rain and lightning delay was not enough to ice out the Social Circle Lady Redskins on Thursday afternoon. Senior Alana Ferguson led the Redskins to a 4-0 victory over Haralson County with a hat trick and an assist.
“The rain and lightning delay was not great; we were in the locker room for about two hours, and the girls were getting pretty antsy,” said head coach Heather Richardson.
The Redskins had lost four of their last five to end the regular season, and their reward was having to sit and wait for two more hours before they finally stepped onto the pitch.
What was supposed to be a 5:30 start ended up being a 6:40 start, but Ferguson and company were still ready to go when the time came. Ferguson scored first just over two minutes into the match, slotting a shot into the bottom left corner of the net from the right side of the box. Ferguson scored again on almost the exact same shot just 90 seconds later.
The Redskins played a very aggressive and suffocating game from that point, passing and getting as many players as possible opportunities to score.
“It [scoring early] allowed us to try some things and get creative to prepare for what’s coming down the road,” Richardson said.
With 18:05 left in the first half, senior Faith Young received a pass from Ferguson and placed a shot behind the Haralson County keeper for goal number three.
Haralson County could barely make it past the midfield line in the first half and did not record a shot in the first half of play.
Despite their best efforts and halftime adjustments, Haralson only managed to put a few shots on net in the second half, none of which found the back of the net.
Ferguson completed her hat trick later in the second half when she scored on a solo run against the keeper from the left side.
Next up for the Redskins will be round two of the playoffs against Dodge County at home on May 1. Dodge County finished their regular season 11-4 and beat Oglethorpe County 4-1 in their first-round matchup. Dodge County is also on a seven-game win streak. The Redskins biggest advantage will be the home field, as they are 9-3 when they don’t have to travel.
