AMERICUS – They are the Lady Panthers of tomorrow. They are the ones who are being groomed for greatness at the varsity level. They are the members of the Americus-Sumter junior varsity girls’ soccer team. They showed the talent they have when they defeated Crisp County (CC) by the score of 5-1 on Monday, February 11, at Alton Shell Stadium.

It was a great debut for Lisa Calkin, the new junior varsity and varsity girls’ soccer coach at Amreicus-Sumter High School (ASHS).

“The girls did well. They listened when we asked them to come back into formation and collapse. They did a great job. They covered and they started talking well,” Calkin said.

The Lady Panthers got on the board first midway through the first half when Kristin Wooden sent the ball into the 18-yard box on a corner kick. The ball found its way through the CC defense and an unmarked Nimsy Hernandez-Bautista was there to tap it into the net to give ASHS a 1-0 lead.

However, the Lady Panthers got an unlucky break when the Lady Cougars’ Jaliah Allen sent a long ball into the ASHS part of the field. The ball bounced in front of ASHS goalkeeper Bernisha Sims. In an attempt to smother the ball, Sims mishandled it and it went into the goal to tie the score at 1-1. That would be the score at halftime.

However, in the second half, it was all Lady Panthers. ASHS kept putting immense pressure on the Lady Cougars’ back line and took several shots on goal. Finally, the Lady Panthers broke through when Wooden took a shot that hit the far post, but Emely Jimenez was there for the rebound and scored to give the Lady Panthers a 2-1 lead.

Later in the second half, Wooden scored the first of her two goals for the game. She then scored her second goal on a free kick after a CC defender was whistled for a foul just outside the 18-yard box. Wooden’s shot sailed over the Lady Cougars’ wall and past the goalkeeper, giving the Lady Panthers a 4-1 lead. ASHS added another goal when Miya Williamson scored to complete the 5-1 victory.

The ASHS varsity girls team will be hosting Shaw on Wednesday, February 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.