The Russellville High School varsity girls’ soccer team fell at home to Florence 4-0 on Thursday night.
Though the outcome was a loss, the Golden Tigers’ head coach Dalany Roberts was happy with the performance of her players on the pitch.
“I think, personally, it was one of our better games if you look at everything all around,” she said. “I was really pleased to see it. We came off a tough loss at East Limestone, and coming from that I was wondering how we’d play when we know our history against Florence. I thought the girls showed up a lot stronger tonight.”
Roberts said the Golden Tigers made a few major shifts for the game, including moving a defender up the field to play as a center midfielder. The changes appeared to bear fruit, especially early in the game as Russellville maintained possession and had Florence pinned back in its own half.
“We put one of our key defenders up in center mid because of her field awareness and her ball skills and I think that changed the dynamic of our play. We maintained possession more so instead of losing it, recovering it, and then booting it, I felt like we played a little bit more of a fluid game,” Roberts said. “Even though we were a little fearful of what that would leave open in the back, it worked in our favor for the most part.”
Russellville’s attempt to keep Florence at bay didn’t last forever. The Falcons drew first blood, but it wasn’t a goal of their own making—a Russellville own goal in the eighth minute put Florence up 1-0.
“We’ve got some young players and some young players in the back that are just a little new to those positions, maybe a little nervous. The first goal was an own goal which, yeah, even professionals make own goals,” Roberts said. “Sometimes it’s just the luck of the draw when it hits you.”
The 1-0 scoreline held until halftime. It was only in the second half that the Falcons began to put shots into the back of the net themselves. Two of Florence’s three goals in the final 40 minutes were next to unstoppable. To start the second half, in the 42nd minute, Brooke Hovater smashed a ball from 30 yards out into the top right corner of the Russellville net. About 30 minutes later, in the 71st minute, Lorelai Wade took a free kick from around 40 yards out, finishing in the corner over the top of Golden Tiger goalkeeper Lya Ramirez.
“I mean, those are hard to stop unless you’re seven feet tall,” Roberts said.
Florence’s other goal scorer was Quincie Halmatov in the 50th minute.
The Golden Tigers had a few chances of their own to score, most notably a chance for Ermelina Ponce early in the first half.
“That’s one of the things we talk about: placement versus power. That was a power shot right to the goalie when it could’ve just been slipped in,” Roberts said. “But in the heat of the moment, you know, you’ve just got to make a decision.”
Though the game ended in a defeat for the Golden Tigers, Russellville has come off in far worse shape against Florence in the past. For Roberts the match was an indicator of just how far her team has progressed.
“I don’t want to discredit (Florence’s) 4-0 win, but it was 5-0 at the beginning of the season. Truthfully, if we look at it skill-wise…it was a much better played game. It was a 2-0 game, if you will, and we actually competed versus just existing on the field,” Roberts said.
While the Golden Tigers continue to work on their skills on the pitch this season, Roberts said her team must also continue focusing on the mental side of the game.
“I’ve been telling them that what will set us apart and what sets other programs apart is the mental game, the awareness on the field outside of the skill,” she said. “That’s something we’re still working on. I told them, ‘Go home and watch soccer. Go home and watch how they move, where their positioning is.’ We’re on our way. We’re a heck of a lot better now.”
Russellville will look to get back to winning ways in its next match next week against Tharptown. The Golden Tigers will host the Wildcats on Tuesday, April 16. It’s a matchup the Golden Tigers are looking forward to.
“It’s always a fun game because it’s a rivalry game, as well,” Roberts said. “We never look at the stats or the records because it’s just one of those games where it doesn’t matter who’s better on paper. We just come to play hard and those girls will come to play hard, so it’s going to be a good game, I’m sure.”
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