Three second-half goals lift Lady Tigers
Darlington took shot after shot on Tuesday afternoon but just couldn’t seem to find a way to get the ball into the back of the net against Chattooga before finally breaking through midway through the second half and then netting two more goals to grab a 3-0 region win.
“Sometimes, you have those games where it’s just not going in. You’re controlling play. You have plenty of opportunities, and you’re just not finishing. Today was one of those days,” Darlington coach Al Shorey said. “We were toying around with a little different organization for our team, and we hadn’t practiced it before today. So we had some bumps along the way, but by and large it’s good to get a region win.”
Darlington senior Sophi Shumate seemed snake bitten for most of the contest. The shifty forward had several solid scoring chances, but the first seven shots she took on goal either drifted wide or got gobbled up by Chattooga’s keeper.
She never faltered though and in the 59th minute she struck on a loose ball over the middle of the box and slammed it into the back of the net, giving the Lady Tigers a 1-0 advantage.
Claire Matherne scored next for Darlington in the 63rd minute when she sent the ball into the lower left corner of the net, upping the Lady Tigers’ lead to 2-0.
Noor Yassin closed out the scoring for the game in the 73rd minute when she lifted a shot into the top left corner of the goal, handing the Lady Tigers the 3-0 advantage.
While the offense took plenty of shots on Chattooga’s goal, the Darlington defense stood tough throughout the game, allowing only a single shot on target that keeper Jennifer Martinez saved without any problems, as she recorded the shutout.
“Our defense has been solid all year. That’s been our strong point,” Shorey said. “Today we wanted to start taking a little more risk on the offensive side. It was very nice to get those last two goals.”
The win moved the Lady Tigers to 8-4 overall and 4-2 in Region 7-A Division I play. Darlington hits the road to play at Dalton Academy on Friday at 5:30 p.m.