Five different Lady Golden Tigers find back of net in RHS’ 9-1 win over Lawrence County

The Russellville High School varsity girls’ soccer team defeated Lawrence County 9-1 on Feb. 26 to improve to 2-0 in the area and 3-2 overall. 

Five different Golden Tigers scored in Monday’s rout of the winless Red Devils as Russellville pushed its current winning streak to two games.

“The girls have really been intentional with what we’re trying to work on and we saw that come into play (Monday) night,” Russellville head coach Dalany Roberts said. “They were consistently maintaining possession, I’d say, 85 to 90 percent of the game, creating plays pulling players instead of just looking for the ball, creating lanes and creating space. We were really happy with (Monday) night’s results.”

The Golden Tiger attack was led by Maricela Andres, who scored a hat-trick. Andres’s three goals against Lawrence County come off the back of a goal-scoring performance in Russellville’s last match against West Point. 

Andres’s promotion from the junior varsity squad prior to the previous match has coincided with a flurry of goals from the Golden Tigers the last two games, but it’s no coincidence. Andres’s addition in that role has bolstered Russellville’s offense and confidence, allowing a more open and free-flowing attack.

“We’ve been really struggling to find that second striker. Some of our strikers are currently injured so that’s kind of thrown a loop…but some of the girls haven’t quite been confident in that position, at least in their opinion, so pulling (Andres) up and putting her in that position has allowed us to create more offensive movement and more of an attacking game,” Roberts said.

Russellville’s leading scorer this year is Nadia Mendez with six goals. Mendez, after a hat-trick of her own against West Point, added two more goals against the Red Devils. Senior Ermelina Ponce also grabbed a brace, scoring her first goal since the season opener vs. Haleyville.

Ponce’s performance and play against Lawrence County was just one indicator of Russellville’s newfound confidence and self-belief in front of goal.

“(Ponce) was very hesitant in making that shot, always wanting to feed the ball to someone else, and (Monday) night she was constantly in front of the goal, attacking, aggressive,” Roberts said. “To see her find confidence in her abilities as a wing, that she’s not just there to create plays, she’s also there to attack the goal, that’s been really exciting.”

Gloria Sop and Fatima Ramirez also found the back of the net to score their first goals of the season and round out the scoresheet. 

Though it’s the players with the goals that get a lot of the recognition, soccer is a true team sport. Russellville’s recent success would not be possible without other key performers in the midfield and defense, Roberts said.

“Keyla Martinez has stepped into our offensive midfield position and, truthfully, without her in the middle with her ball control, we would lose a lot of forward movement,” Roberts said. “You can definitely tell she’s more seasoned this year and more open to communicate with the girls what she needs to play her position.”

“Another player that has stepped into a big position is Kimberly Mojica. She’s playing as our sweeper, which was formerly played by Hannah Figueroa who had been a part of the program since it started. Those were obviously some big shoes to fill,” Roberts added.

Though the goals have been flying in the last couple games, Roberts said egos have been in check and the Golden Tigers are playing with a team-first mentality this season.

“I feel like we have a more team mentality,” she said. “It’s all for one this year. There’s nobody out there looking for the glory. It’s not been ‘I want the goal,’ it’s been ‘we want the goal.’ I think that’s been a big change for us, the fact that we’re willing to do what’s best just to get the goal in the back of the net regardless of who puts it there.”

Comparing where this Russellville team is now, in terms of goals scored and goals allowed, to where it was at this point last season, Roberts said she’s excited to see improvement.

“Last year at this time we had 25 goals scored against us and only four goals scored for us. And at this point in the season we have 17 goals scored for us and only 10 against us,” she said. “To us that’s a pretty big deal, a pretty big victory just to see that.”

Five games in and currently holding a perfect area record, Roberts said the focus remains to keep the momentum going and to give every team they play the Golden Tigers’ best shot.

“We consider everybody a level playing field and we come out to play our best game,” she said. “We’ve talked about how, you know, everybody wants the highest scoring game, of course, but we’re just looking to perfect our game and perfect ourselves as players. There are a lot of outside factors, so the best game can look different on different nights, but at the end of the day our goal is to play our best possible game.”