Colquitt soccer teams sweep Valdosta

Published 7:57 pm Wednesday, March 1, 2023

MOULTRIE, GA — Both Colquitt County varsity soccer teams went home victorious Tuesday night after they played the Valdosta Wildcats at Packer Park.

The Packers shut out the Wildcats 8-0. The Lady Packers won 5-2.

“It’s been a long time since we saw a region win,” said Lady Packers head coach Colby Simpson.

In fact, the last time they won a region game was in 2017, also when they played against Valdosta.

“This was a necessary win,” said assistant coach Carlos Bautista. “We are still trying to put some things together, but we have a good chance of going to state.”

This season the Lady Packers are currently 2-2 overall with 1-1 in region games.

Mollie Hewett scored the first goal for the Lady Packers within five minutes of the starting whistle.

Unfortunately, the Lady Packers had two goals taken away when they got called on offsides, but that didn’t deter them.

Before the end of the first half, two more valid shots made it past the goalie. One was from Krystal Guerrero and the other by Chelsea Moreno.

The Wildcats were shut down at every attempt by the Lady Packer defense, making it 3-0 when the referee called halftime.

In the second half, Jakeline Choc had a high corner shot which brought the score to 4-0 with 35 minutes left to play.

Just a few minutes later, Haley Linsley gave Jennifer Cano the chance to score by faking out the goalie and passing her the ball.

The score remained 5-0 until there were only six minutes left, in which the Wildcats managed to score two goals.

Three of the four Lady Packer scorers — Moreno, Choc, and Cano — played up as they usually compete at the JV level.

“The girls are getting better,” said Simpson. “They are setting a new standard of play.”

Currently in first place and undefeated in region games, the Packers have also set the scene for their season.

They are 4-2 overall.

“We are doing all the right things,” said head coach Jimbo Jarvis. “We just need to fine tune.”

It took a while to tame their shot attempts and stay onsides, but once they found their groove the Packers dominated the field.

With 15 minutes left in the first half, Lee Duvergel got the Packers on the scoreboard with the first goal of the game.

Yahir Cleto had a great defensive play right before halftime, keeping himself between the ball and the goal, stopping the Wildcats from getting a breakaway.

By the time the whistle rang, the Packers had gotten two more goals: One from Luke Brogdon and one by Josue Ramirez.

“I’m proud that I was able to play from the bench the entire second half,” said Jarvis.

Getting a penalty kick in the second half with 26 minutes left, Bryan Ortiz faked out the goalie and had him diving the wrong way, getting another goal for the Packers.

Derick Espinoza got goal number six for the Packers with a long shot from beyond the goal box.

Also securing another goal for the Packers, Duvergel got his second goal of the game after heading the ball past the goalie after a corner kick.

Ortiz also had a second goal before the end of the game, but he didn’t stop there.

Giovanni Pascual received a pass from Ortiz that allowed Pascual to line up a shot and get the final goal for the Packers with just minutes left in the game.

“We had a great attack tonight and were able to penetrate their defense,” said Jarvis.

The Packers and Lady Packers face Camden County next on Friday night in Kingsland.