The Thomson Lady Dogs were held scoreless by the Westside Lady Patriots in a soccer match played at Thomson on March 20.
“That was a tough game,” said Thomson’s Anna Carrington after the game. “But I think we played with heart.”
Westside wasted little time scoring, putting their first goal in the net just 6:15 into the game. They scored again 10 minutes later, and added two more goals to their tally before the halftime break.
Head coach Jessica Ruark made several adjustments, putting several players in different positions for the second half. Despite a valiant offensive effort resulting in the ball getting within inches of the goal on several occasions, Thomson was unable to generate any points in the second half. Stubborn defensive play by the Lady Dogs did limit Westside to one goal late in the half, and the score stood 5-0 in Westside’s favor at the end of regulation play.
“They’re not better than us,” Ruark told her team after the game. “They just got some lucky shots. You held your own against them. And I want to say ‘thank you’ to each and every one of you because I was moving you around a lot and you each did what I asked of you. You played your hearts out.”
The game was the first played at the THS regular soccer field, with previous home games being played at The Brickyard. Renovation construction at The Brickyard meant home games had to be moved back to the regular field, and the hasty move was evident by a poorly marked field that was several yards narrower than regulation, a fact that nearly forced Thomson to forfeit had Westside not agreed to play with the field as it was.
“The field was entirely too narrow,” Ruark said after the game. “It was lined at least seven yards too narrow. The middle of the field and the penalty box were marked wrong, but these were things the refs said they’d work with, and that’s just how it was. I do feel it affected the game, but we just have to deal with what we have the best we can.”
“The girls really played their hearts out, though,” Ruark said. “It’s hard to even pick out any one player that did better than any others, because they all played hard and did everything I asked them to do.”
The Lady Dogs traveled to play A.R. Johnson on Friday, and faced Harlem at home Tuesday. They host Grovetown Friday. Game time is 5:30.
