Lady Rebels fall to Lamar 15-0

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Lamar’s Mary Love Hodge carries the ball down-field during their soccer match Tuesday afternoon against ACCS.

NATCHEZ — The Adams County Christian girls soccer team ran into a buzz saw Tuesday afternoon when it faced Lamar School.

Lamar came in as one of the top teams in MAIS, Lady Rebels’ coach Jim Allgood said, and although the Lady Rebels have improved since they faced Lamar last season, they were still overmatched by the Lady Raiders and lost 15-0.

“With (Lamar’s) passing and shooting skills, and them being able to score goals from 30 yards out, you can’t break down on defense,” Allgood said. “(Lamar) is probably one of the top two teams in the state in MAIS, and our goal for the high school and junior varsity is to make better passes and to control and attack the ball. In the first half we didn’t do a lot of that.”

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The Lady Rebels trailed 10-0 at the half, but Allgood thought the team’s play improved in the second half.

“We came out and played more aggressive in the second half,” he said.

ACCS was unable to develop an offensive threat against Lamar, as the Lady Raiders kept ACCS from attempting any shots in the game, and controlled the ball most of the contest. The Lady Rebels also had trouble containing Lamar forward Rachel Lee, who netted seven goals.

Allgood said despite the loss, his team can learn from Tuesday’s game.

“My opinion as a coach is the only way you will get better is by playing better teams,” he said. “This game this year we showed major improvement from last year, even if the numbers don’t show it.”

The Lady Rebels’ soccer program is only in its second year, and the team has already quadrupled its win total from its inaugural season. ACCS is 4-4-1 and currently in fourth place in Division II-South, Allgood said.

“If all things hold we can qualify for the state tournament,” Allgood said.

Sophomore midfielder Kaitlin Pace, who booted a 52-yard goal in ACCS’ 6-2 win over Oak Forest last week, said she has seen a lot of improvement in the team since last season.

“This year we have better footwork, we have learned to talk more and pass the ball,” she said. “We won one (game) last year, and it made us realize we had to step up and be serious. Now that we are starting to win some we realize what it takes.”

Allgood said a couple of ACCS’ wins have come against teams that beat the Lady Rebels by double digits last season.

ACCS will travel to Meridian to face Lamar again Thursday, Allgood said.