SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. – Both Social Circle squads got the win at home, but in very different fashions on Friday.
The Lady Redskins took care of business, running away with the win while the boys escaped in the final minutes by warding off numerous dangerous attacks.
The girls ended the week with a convincing win over George Walton Academy to get back in the win column after losing to Lakeside. The Lady Redskins netted a 6-2 win to improve to 3-1 early in the season.
George Walton scored first in the opening minutes of the game and held its 1-0 lead for almost 10 minutes of clock. However, the Redskins finally settled in and got their offense jump started with a tying goal in the 17th minute of the first half. Aubrey Spruell found the equalizer off of a rebound from a free kick.
With that goal, the floodgates opened.
Alana Ferguson scored on a one-on-one with the keeper to go ahead with 15:18 remaining in the first half.
George Walton’s defense struggled mightily in the first half as it conceded two more goals before the whistle. Both goals were scored by Faith Young, who received a pass from the right side of the box to increase the lead on both occasions.
Even with the win, Lady Redskins head coach Heather Richardson still saw areas where the team needs to improve on before their next match.
“We needed to do a better job of settling the ball and passing more – having a more concrete offensive game plan,” Richardson said.
The second half was more of the same for the girls team.
Although George Walton’s defense was a little bit better, it still conceded a handful of goals. Seniors Ferguson and Young led the team offensively as they scored five of the team’s six goals as Ferguson ended her day with a hat trick.
With region play next up, Richardson shared the team’s mindset moving into the bulk of the season.
“I want the girls to take the energy from tonight and carry it onwards to the next games, especially with our first region match on Tuesday,.” Richardson said.
The boys game between the Redskins and Bulldogs was much different in terms of scoring.
Social Circle walked away with a 2-1 win after an onslaught of saves in the final three minutes and a near own-goal on a contested header.
The Redskins maintained possession and pressure for the majority of the first half but only managed to break the George Walton defense once thanks to a breakaway goal by Jude Nelson.
Nelson made his run early and took a 1-0 lead for Social Circle early into the game.
The lead remained 1-0 heading into halftime, but an early second-half goal by the Bulldogs turned the momentum heavily in the favor of the opposing squad.
The Redskins struggled to maintain any pressure and sustain attacks in the opposing third from that point onward.
George Walton had some very dangerous shots in the waning moments, but the Social Circle defense stood solid late.
Goalkeeper Ean Pollard saved a long shot off of the crossbar, another one-on-one moments later and the near own-goal off of a header with under a minute to play to preserve the Social Circle victory.
Despite this, Head Coach Jim Corasaniti said was pleased with the effort of his team following Friday's game.
“They [the Redskins] played really hard and worked well as a team and never quit,” Corasaniti siad.
Following the wins
With a matchup with Towers on deck for Social Circle, Corasaniti stressed that the team is entering every game with the same energy.
“We’re going to play every game like it’s a state playoff game like it could be our last.” Corasaniti said.
