AMERICUS – The Dougherty Trojans, having won eight-straight matches, got number nine Tuesday night, April 3, as they came into Alton Shell Stadium and trounced the ASH Boys Soccer Team 7-0.

From the start of the match, the Trojans dominated possession and the run-of-play. Though they fought extremely hard throughout the match, the Panthers struggled to possess the ball and generate any offensive attack against the more talented, stronger and faster Dougherty team.

The Trojans mounted their attack right away as Dougherty’s Elian Moreno took a shot early in the match that sailed over the crossbar. However, it would be a sign of things to come as Moreno went on to score four goals in the match. ASH had a chance in the first half when defender Tyrell Roberts dribbled the ball down the right flank, but was unable to get a shot off as the Dougherty goalkeeper came off his line and smothered the ball.

The Panthers had another chance to score came in the first half when Jonathan Rodriguez chest trapped the ball and sent a volley towards the goal, but right to the goalkeeper.

The Trojans got their first goal of the match with 18:43 left in the first half. An ASH defender fouled Moreno inside the box, and Dougherty was awarded a penalty kick. Moreno converted the kick, scoring the first of his four goals.

Just a few second later, the Trojans doubled their lead when Willie Gonzalez scored to make it 2-0. At this point, Dougherty was in total control of the match, dominating ball possession and the run-of-play. They continued to put pressure on the Panthers’ back line. Then with 12:59 to go in the first half, Brayan Gonzalez scored to give the Trojans a 3-0 lead by halftime.

When the second half started, Dougherty resumed their dominance over the match. With 8 1/2 minutes into the second half, Brayan Gonzalez got his second goal of the game, giving the Trojans a 4-0 lead. Then with 16:31 left in the match, the Trojans sent a ball over the top of the ASH defense to an on-running Elian Moreno. Moreno only had the ASH Goalkeeper Abdallah Farhaan to beat. Farhaan came off his line to block Moreno’s view of the goal, but Moreno chipped the ball over Farhaan and into the net to make it 5-0 Dougherty.

Moreno scored two more goals in the second half to complete the 7-0 win.

In fairness to Americus-Sumter, their bench was depleted and they had just played a game on Monday, April 2, against Northside-Columbus. “We didn’t have too many options,” ASH head coach Felix Jimenez said. “We didn’t have many subs, so we had to play with the people that we have. They played yesterday also. They had two consecutive games, so it wasn’t so easy. For them. They were exhausted. We only had three subs today because our striker got hurt yesterday.”

The Panthers, who have shown tremendous effort and grit in every game this season, will continue to do so when they travel to Crisp County on Tuesday, April 10. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.