Lady Golden Tigers improve to 7-3 after beating West Morgan 1-nil at home

The Russellville High School varsity girls’ soccer team returned to Golden Tiger Stadium on March 12 after three straight road matches, defeating West Morgan 1-0 and avenging a loss to the Rebels earlier this season. 

“We played (West Morgan) last week and we lost 3-0,” Russellville head coach Dalany Roberts said. “We walked away with the win tonight because I felt we were very hungry.”

The win, which improves Russellville’s record to 7-3 this season, is the Golden Tigers’ third straight victory since their last loss at West Morgan on March 4. Roberts said a change in tactics and formation was effective in earning the result.

“We ran a 4-1-4-1 to start, just to see what type we were playing against this evening,” she said. “In the second half we shifted to a 3-1-4-2 so we could push up a little more offensively and to try and keep the ball.”

“We know the type of team (West Morgan) are in terms of the types of shots they like to take,” Roberts added. “It was just a matter of making sure we were shutting down those top of the box, over the top (of the goalkeeper) shots.”

The breakthrough for Russellville came in the 20th minute when a lashed Nadia Mendez cross from the left flank found Ermelina Ponce at the far post. Ponce finished from close range, scoring the decisive goal and her fourth of the season.

Russellville’s work wasn’t done just yet, though. The Rebels continued to press for an equalizer and twice came within a few inches. In the 50th minute a West Morgan header from just a few yards out rattled off the crossbar. Then in the 70th minute, a few Rebel shots pinballed around inside the Russellville box before Gloria Sop made a goal line clearance, earning sighs of relief from the home fans and appreciation from her coach.

“That’s actually the second time she’s done that this year. It’s just the hunger, it’s the hustle. She’s a winger and she’s back in the goal defending the goal line. She saw the need for it, she saw the shift, and she filled that spot. Thank God she was there,” Roberts said.

As the second half wore on, both teams continued to push for goals and neither were afraid to put in a challenge. A few yellow cards were shown. In the end, Russellville was able to hold on.

“We’ve been playing West Morgan for a long time. There is a lot of respect there, but, you know, it’s been win, lose, win, lose, so I think every time we come out here we want to play to the best of our ability and nobody wants to walk away with the loss. We talked about us having something to prove. We’re at home this week and we wanted to make sure we walked out with the victory because we knew we were capable of it,” Roberts said. “We kept our mentality high which is a big thing. You know, when the shoving happens, when the frustration begins, I tell my girls we stay tried and true, and we always leave the field smiling no matter what the scoreboard says. We’re not just out here for wins, we’re out here because we love the sport and I feel like that does carry my girls through a lot.”

Russellville will attempt to keep its winning ways going when the Golden Tigers host East Limestone on March 18. East Limestone, a consistent power in 5A girls’ soccer, will be one of Russellville’s toughest tests yet this season, but Roberts said the Golden Tigers won’t be backing down from challenge.

“You know, when you want it you have to compete against teams like that. We’re coming out with the mindset we’ve got what it takes to take on East Limestone. We know they’re a talented team, but we don’t slack off in terms of what we think we’re capable of.”

Kickoff between Russellville and East Limestone is set for 5 p.m. on March 18.