Wayne Grandy
MOULTRIE – The Colquitt County soccer season got off on the right foot on Wednesday with the middle school teams sweeping a pair of games from visiting Pine Grove Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium.
The middle school girls jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 7-0 victory in Kristen Harrison’s debut as a head coach.
The middle school boys trailed twice in the first half before rallying for a 7-2 victory to complete the sweep.
Reagan Kelshaw, Aubrey Norris and Mary Holt Statom each had two goals for the Colquitt County girls.
Norris scored her goals in the final 18:30 to put the match out of reach. Ferrell Tyndall put the finishing touches on the shutout with a goal with seven minutes remaining.
Norris also had a pair of assists. Statom had another.
The Lady Packers had 22 shots against Pine Grove, a new middle school in Lowndes County.
“They did awesome,” said Harrison, the former Lady Packer coaching her first game. “And our sixth-graders ... I was so impressed with them. Our defense didn’t get a lot of action. But I was able to switch some people around and everybody got a chance to play awhile.”
The middle school boys trailed 1-0 and 2-1, but once Francisco Gomez heated up, it was all over for the Vikings.
Gomez scored five times, includin the goals that tied the game at 1-1 and 2-2.
And after Jose Dominguez put Colquitt County up 3-2 early in the second half, Gomez scored three more times.
Colquitt County coach Ashley Hill said the final goal, scored in the waning minutes, was a group effort.
Pine Grove scored first, seven minutes into the match, but the lead did not last long.
Jason Nunez sent a cross to Garrett Moore who trapped it and got it to Gomez who put it in for Colquitt County’s first goal of the season.
After Pine Grove went up 2-1, Nunez got the ball in close to Gomez, who forced it in to tie the game a second time.
Colquitt County keeper Matthew Moody was hurt on Pine Grove’s second goal and was forced to leave the game. He was replaced by Luis Padilla.
When Moody returned in the second half and Padilla returned to his former position, the Packers play improved, Hill said.
Hill also said he was especially pleased with the play of Gomez, both as an inside and outside forward.
“And all 22 of our players got some playing time, at least three to five minutes each,” Hill said.
The middle school teams will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Lowndes for a pair of games beginning at 10:30 a.m.
