Lady Raiders’ comeback attempt falls short

Published 10:30 pm Wednesday, March 6, 2019

AMERICUS – The Southland Academy (SA) Lady Raider soccer team fell behind to Terrell Academy (TA) 3-0, but two second-half goals by SA forward Brooke Weisner got the Lady Raiders back in the game. However, it was not enough as the Lady Eagles were able to hold on and win 3-2 on Wednesday, March 6, at Harvey Simpson Stadium.

“Overall, I though there was a lot of improvement from the first half to the second half,” SA head coach Jimmy Alonzo said. “In the first half, we had a lot of self-inflicted wounds with an own goal and turnovers causing their two goals. We told our girls to take it to the other team in the second half. We got that early girl, which was what we wanted. Then we tried to take it from there. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the tying goal, but overall, I’m pretty pleased.”

The Lady Eagles got on the board in the seventh minute when midfielder Sarah Stevenson took a shot that went beyond SA goalkeeper Ansley Weldon and into the far corner of the net. TA doubled their lead in the 12th minute of the first half when the Lady Raiders scored an own goal. Then almost five minutes later, TA forward Jenna Cuff took a shot that went into the upper part of the net to give the Lady Eagles a 3-0 lead by halftime.

SA forward Brooke Weisner scored the Lady Raiders’ two goals against Terrell Academy.
Photo by Ken Gustafson

In the first half, the Lady Raiders were totally outplayed. TA controlled most of the run of play and put immense pressure on SA’s back line, giving the Lady Eagles numerous chances to score more goals. However, the Lady Raider defense was able to hold up under the pressure. Weisner had a chance to score in the first half for SA, but her shot went right into the arms of TA goalkeeper Sierra Brogdon.

Early in the second half, the Lady Raiders broke through as Weisner scored the first of her two goals to bring SA to within two at 3-1. That seemed to inject some life into the Lady Raiders. TA still controlled most of the possession, but SA was more aggressive and found ways to win the ball and create more chances to score.

The Lady Raiders had a chance to score their second goal earlier in the second half on a free kick, but the attempt by Hannah Adkins sailed wide left of the net.

With just three minutes left in the match, Weisner got her second goal to bring SA to within one goal at 3-2. The Lady Raiders tried desperately to get the equalizer, but ran out of time and lost to the Lady Eagles 3-2.

With the loss, SA drops to 0-2 on the young season. They will try to earn their first win of the season when they travel to Chula, GA to take on the Lady Panthers of Tiftarea Academy on Tuesday, March 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.