Christian Mata, blue jersey, takes the ball upfield.

MOULTRIE – Wednesday afternoon the Colquitt County High School soccer program competed against the Thomas County Central High School (TCC) at Packer Park for their only home game during their summer session.

These games were not officially scored, nor were there referees as the purpose behind this match was to keep the athletes active and give them some extra playing time.

The CCHS teams consisted of a conglomeration of rising 6th-12th graders.

Because of the heat and for the safety of the athletes, the games were played in three 20-minute sections with about 10 minutes between each play period, rather than 90 continuous minutes.

When the Lady Packers began their match at 4 p.m. the temperature was 95 degrees with about 50% humidity and not a cloud in the sky to provide shade.

It was hot and sticky.

Despite this, the Lady Packers went out and kept their game competitive.

The ball was on the Lady Packers side of the field more than not but both Karen Mendoza and Chelsea Moreno had several attacking opportunities.

Unfortunately, none of them resulted in a goal, but there were several shot attempts.

Taking on a role of leadership was Crystal Guerrero, who played midfield and was all over assisting in anyway she could.

Melanie Mesa had a beautiful defensive maneuver when she had a successful side kick out of the air from within the goalie box to clear the ball.

Also playing phenomenal defense were Vashti Camacho, Jasmine Mendoza and Taylor Hewett.

The goalkeeper for the Lady Packers during this game was Rhylee Tillery, who is testing out the position.

She had 14 saves throughout the 60 minutes, and even stopped one breakaway where she ran out of the goalbox to kick the ball out from under the feet of the TCC player.

“I am very impressed with the ladies’ progress over the summer,” said head coach Carlos Bautista. “Both the younger girls and the experienced girls have all grown. I am excited to keep working with them and hopefully pull out some solid wins this coming season.”

At 6 p.m., when the Packers took the field, the temperature and humidity were the same.

It continued to be hot and sticky.

The Packers played primarily an offensive game, rather than defensive, having a total of 15 shots on goal.

By the end of the match, the Packers had successfully scored four shots, split between Turner McDaniel and Jesse Guerrero.

Guerrero’s first goal, which was the first of the game, was a rebound shot where he sent the ball flying in an arc above the goalkeepers outstretched arms.

McDaniel’s first goal, the second for the Packers, was an easy breakaway from midfield.

Several other notable players from the Packers this game were Christian Mata dominating the center mid position along with Amicah Carroll, Daniel Martinez and Banks Flowers for defensive maneuvering and continuing to clear the ball.

One of Flowers’ stops was a seamless hip check, knocking the TCC player off balance, followed by a quick steal and fancy footwork before sending the ball upfield to the forwards.

“I was impressed with the kids that came out,” said varsity assistant coach Marcus Lopez. “Asking 6-12 graders to come out and play together is tough because there is no chemistry. Only about four to six players had experience playing together, but they played well.”

There is one more away summer game for the soccer program on Thursday night in Thomasville Bulldogs, but after that the athletes will focus on their scholarly education and physical conditioning until the soccer season begins in the winter.