Tonight's two games could be defined by quick strikes. In both contests, consecutive goals happened seconds apart. For each team, it gave them the momentum to hold onto victories before Thanksgiving break along with momentum for their season.
Sumrall's girls opened the night with a second-half comeback over South Jones 4-2.
"Very proud of our girls. This is the second game in a row where we fell behind 2-1 and worked out way back into the game. We tied a 6A school in Petal and now have beaten South Jones who I have all the love and respect for. I've known Tony Buckley for a long time and he's a fantastic coach. It was a measuring stick for us and I think we measured out well. We just have to be consistent in how we play," said head coach Todd Siders.
South Jones' Taylor Lawrence struck first in the opening minutes with a stiff strike through the net to give the Braves a 1-0 lead.
The Braves controlled the early stages until the 33rd minute when Caragan Childs got loose and tied the game 1-1.
Brianna Gray responded five minutes later in the 38th minute on a free-kick to give the Braves the 2-1 lead that stood at the half.
Sumrall came out on all cylinders in the second half as Keagan Pierce and Jordan Thornhill scored goals mere seconds apart in the 42nd minute to give the Bobcats a 3-1 lead.
"We challenged them there because we missed some opportunities there in the first half. The name of the game is minimizing mistakes and we made two, so they capitalized on that. I told them we had to put the ball in the net. Caragan is a special player and she did what we expect her to do in the second half," said Siders.
Childs put the exclamation point on things in the 52nd minute with her second goal of the evening giving Sumrall a 4-2 lead.
"She's just blessed with the gift of tremendous power and speed. She has a rocket of a left foot, and she knows the game well. She's going to Jones College next year which is one of the top JUCO programs around here. You just can't say enough about her. She just keeps getting better and she's trusting her teammates and that's showing," explained Siders.
What's Next
Sumrall moves to 6-0-2 on the season and will enjoy the Thanksgiving break before heading back onto the pitch. South Jones falls to 4-3 overall and will do the same on their Thanksgiving break.
The South Jones guys took to the pitch in the second game of the evening and came away with a 3-0 victory over Sumrall's guys.
The South Jones guys took to the pitch in the second game of the evening and came away with a 3-0 victory over Sumrall's guys.
"We went through a tough patch last week. We had two bad losses and we preached this week to play as a team. We finally did that, started working together and moving the ball well, this win, and the way that we won it is the big thing. Going into the break and playing Petal next, I feel like there is no telling where this team can go moving forward. They are starting to play good soccer. As long as we can keep this momentum through the break we will be just fine," said South Jones head coach Lucas Gleason.
Giovanni Cruz scored the opening goal in the 17th minute, then Osvaldo Grimaldo found the second goal 20 seconds later to give the Braves a quick 2-0 lead.
South Jones’ final goal of the evening came in the 47th minute as Gustavo Grimaldo found the net.
What's Next
South Jones moves to 3-4 on the year and like the girl's team, they will enjoy Thanksgiving break as will the Sumrall boy's team who falls to 1-7-1 on the season.
