The Rams came up short at Sharp Stadium against South Gwinnett on Tuesday as both Newton squads were unable to hold on in its own defensive third in the Region 4-AAAAAAA matchup.

The girls were mercy-ruled 10-0 midway through the second half and remain winless this season. The boys showed promise and jumped ahead with a lead, but they could not hold on and lost 5-3 when it was all said and done.

The girls fell behind 4-0 quickly and struggled to get off the back foot. South Gwinnett continued to press and found the gaps in the backline repeatedly, which resulted in five goals in just over 10 minutes of playing time.

The boys' game was back-and-forth with South Gwinnett getting on the board first off of some nice passing to get through the Rams’ back line.

Minutes later, the Rams answered back with a goal from No. 13 Jomol Merrique, who put a shot past the keeper off of a rebound from the left post. 

No. 17 Juan Blancas followed up with a go-ahead goal soon after. Blancas’ goal signaled that the momentum was starting to favor the Rams.

In the second half, No. 13 Merrique had a breakaway down the right side and was able to launch a shot across the net and past the keeper for his second of the evening to go ahead 3-1.

However, the boys could not close it out in the last 20 minutes, as the Rams conceded four goals to South Gwinnett and lost their fifth straight game.

Following the game, Newton head coach Duane Williams felt like his team was close to coming away with the region win.

“We let one slip away,” Williams said. “I thought we played well but we couldn’t finish when it mattered.”

With the losses, both squads remain winless in region play.

 The girls have four games left and look to end the season on a high note, while the boys have six games left and will be trying to close out the season strong.

Next up for the Rams is a region rematch against Parkview on Friday, March 15. When the Rams played the Panthers on Feb. 27, the girls lost 10-0 and the boys lost 8-0.