SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — Non-region clashes between two local teams Friday night featured some tough competition. Social Circle girls got the better of Newton while the Rams edged out the Redskins.
The Lady Redskins won 10-0 and the Rams beat Social Circle 1-0.
Rams need one goal to down Redskins
It was a close match from start to finish but Newton's one goal was the deciding factor in their win over Social Circle Friday night.
Going into the match 1-2, the Rams were looking to get back to .500 with a win over the 0-3 Redskins.
Newton's offensive pressure was showing early into the match as it got a few shots on goal early to throw off the Social Circle defense.
In the seventh minute, Rigoberto Sanchez made his way into the box for the shot but was slide-tackled, resulting in an early penalty for the Rams.
Sanchez’s penalty, along with his second chance shot attempt, was blocked by the keeper as the Redskins survived an early scare.
The penalty was not the end of the day for Sanchez however, as he continued to put pressure on the Social Circle defense from the first minute until the last.
In the 27th minute, Sanchez was set for a free kick, but it was blocked by the wall as another Newton scoring opportunity was squandered in the box.
While most of the Newton scoring opportunities fell just short, Sanchez decided on a different approach in the 35th minute that was the deciding factor in the game.
From just outside the box, Sanchez took a strike that hit the hands of the diving Redskins keeper before landing in the net for a goal.
“Sanchez is one of my goal scorers and leaders out there,” head coach Duane Williams said. “He is a commander of the game. He knows how to control the ball and get his players in good positions.”
Social Circle had a hard time getting shot opportunities against the Rams for a large majority of the match, but that did not stop head coach Jim Corasaniti from applying as much pressure as possible late in the match in hopes of an equalizer.
The Redskins found themselves taking multiple corner kicks late in the match, but to no avail as most of the kicks were either off target or caught by Newton keeper Nolan Stanfield.
“We did some things right but our corner kicks were way off, some of our throw-ins did not go well and that cost us,” Corasaniti said. “It is the little things that we need to tweak and see where we made some mistakes. We gave [Sanchez] the open shot and he drilled the ball.”
Social Circle’s last-ditch effort in the final two minutes came close on a final corner kick. The corner made it into the box before the Newton defender took the header the opposite direction to end the threat and secure the win for the Rams.
“I liked the camaraderie and how we played together,” Williams said. “We communicated well. We had to make some changes to make sure we were good with our adjustments. We had players playing in positions they do not normally play in but the adjustments were well.”
The win moves the Rams to 2-2 on the season. Newton will look to keep their winning ways alive when they go on the road to take on Stephenson Monday, Feb. 13.
The loss drops the Redskins to 0-4, but they will look to pick up their first win next week when they go on the road to face Georgia Military College Thursday, Feb. 16.
Lady Redskins mercy rule Lady Rams
After starting their season 0-3 following their State Championship season, the Lady Redskins got back on track with a 10-0 win over the Lady Rams on Friday night.
Both teams came into the match posting 0-3 records, but the Lady Redskins got off to a hot start as they began a large scoring barrage that took over the first 20 minutes.
After a pair of early attacks did not land for Social Circle, junior Peyton Brooks put the ball in the back of the net to give the Lady Redskins their first goal.
“Peyton Brooks is a really good goal scorer, she is attacking-minded and she just gets after it, but she also distributed well tonight,” Head coach Heather Richardson said.
Brooks came together with freshman Jada Forgay to put up two more goals before five minutes could pass on the clock, moving the score up to 3-0.
After taking a few minutes back, the Lady Redskins would go on a scoring run that lasted only four minutes but saw the Lady Rams concede four goals.
In the 15th minute, freshman Gentrie Mobley dribbled the ball through the defense and into the box before putting the ball past the Newton keeper for the goal.
Brooks got back into the action in the next minute as the junior took the ball around two defenders before kicking it across the keeper for the hat trick, but Brooks did not stop there.
Brooks found herself in the box again shortly after as the junior took the shot that deflected off the keeper’s hands and into the net for the goal.
The Lady Redskins scored their final goal of the half when Kambrie Morrow lobbed the ball over the keeper’s head to give Social Circle the 7-0 lead.
“We did really well passing the ball around, switching fields, crossing it in and finishing,” Richardson said. “We stepped to the ball well, we were just aggressive tonight and we were on our toes and on our game.”
With the mercy rule in sight, Brooks kept the intensity out of halftime as she scored two goals early in the second half.
The match came to a close in the 31st minute when Aubrey Spruell scored the final goal to end the game with a 10-0 win for the Lady Redskins.
The win is the first for Social Circle as they look to return to the same form as last season. The Lady Redskins will be back on the pitch next week as they go on the road to play Georgia Military College Thursday, Feb. 16.
Despite the loss, first-year Newton coach Shelbye Hall feels the Lady Rams are still heading in the right direction.
“We are on a positive upswing, and we know what we need to do to fix things,” Hall said. “I felt really good about our last leg, we just need to start with that.”
After falling to 0-4, the Rams will be back in action soon as they will be set to go on the road to take on Stephenson Monday, Feb. 13.
