Lady Dogs win two more

By Jon Wood

November 14, 2006 04:31 pm

— The Suwannee High Lady Bulldogs soccer team posted two more wins last week to move to 5-0 for the season and 1-0 in their district. The Lady Dogs defeated district foe Middleburg 2-1 Wednesday and beat Oak Hall of Gainesville 3-1 Friday.
Suwannee traveled to Middleburg Wednesday for their first district match of the season to face the Lady Mustangs. This would prove to be a hard-fought match from start to finish and was not settled until the final whistle blew.
Suwannee struck first in the 17th minute when Ashley Harris directed a beautiful pass to Katie Prevatt, who went one on one with the keeper and fired a blast that went into the left side net. Middleburg came back quickly and equalized the game three minutes later with a shot that squeezed between diving keeper Erica Sparks and the left goal post. The score remained knotted at 1-1 until the second half when Suwannee scored the game-winning goal in the 53rd minute. The Lady Dogs won a corner kick that Kelsey Bowen placed in front of the goal and Prevatt headed it past the keeper. Middleburg pressed hard the whole game, but the Suwannee defense kept stepping up and denying them scoring opportunities. With less than two minutes remaining in the game Middleburg scored what appeared to be another equalizing goal, but the referee called them offside and waved the goal off, preserving the 2-1 final score.
Gainesville Oak Hall is a team Suwannee has not played in recent years but the home and away series was renewed this season. The Eagles featured several players who were on the Gainesville Sun All-Area team last season, including Sun Player of the Year Emily Shore. Shore didn’t waste any time showing the crowd her skills, firing a shot from just outside the 18-yard box that found the upper corner of the goal just four minutes into the game. After that initial lapse, the Lady Dogs defense stiffened and held Oak Hall scoreless for the remainder of the half.
Suwannee tied the game just before halftime when Mary Badgerow sent a pass to Kelsey Bowen on the left edge of the 18-yard box that Bowen fired over the keeper’s head and into the back of the net. The second half would belong to the Lady Dogs as the Suwannee defense, led by Ashley Harris, who moved from forward to sweeper for this game, held Oak Hall to only one shot on goal. Suwannee scored the game-winning goal in the 63rd minute when Katie Prevatt poked one in after the keeper couldn’t hang on to a hard shot from Kelsey Bowen. An insurance goal was added late in the match when Prevatt challenged the onrushing keeper and got a pass to Blair Clayton who put it in to give the Lady Dogs the 3-1 victory.
“I couldn’t be any prouder of this team,” said coach Kathy Wood. “These were two intense matches. Both teams played hard the entire game and to come away with two wins is very rewarding. Our players are doing whatever it takes to win games.” And that includes playing positions that may be new to them or not their favorite.
“To be able to get five wins given our injury situation is very encouraging,” Wood added. Senior Amanda Mendez suffered a sprained ankle in the opening week and senior Alicia Cash is recovering from shoulder surgery. Both players should be available later this season. Junior Cortney Benson suffered a broken leg in the preseason and will miss the entire season.
The Lady Dogs’ next home match will be this Saturday, Nov. 18, when the Eastside Lady Rams come to town. The junior varsity will play at 10 a.m. and the varsity will play at noon. Come on out and support Lady Dogs soccer.