WS Chronicle

Photo by Timothy Ramsey

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY 

THE CHRONICLE

Soccer is literally a game of bounces, some good and some bad.  In their game against East Forsyth, the girls of the Mineral Springs soccer team had the ball bounce the wrong way almost all game long as they were defeated by a score of 3-0.

The Ravens of East Forsyth jumped out early on Mineral Springs by scoring an early goal.  The defensive lapse by the Bulldog defense allowed East Forsyth to attack the goalie and sneak one by her.

During the beginning portion of the first half, the Ravens continued to dominate possession of the ball, not allowing Mineral Springs to have an opportunity to tie the game. After settling down a bit, the girls from Mineral Springs began to launch their own attack later in the half.

The Bulldogs had their chances late in the first with a couple break away chances but were unable to capitalize on any of their opportunities.  The East Forsyth goalie stymied any attempt from the Mineral Springs offense. They went into intermission trailing 1-0 and looked to rebound in the second half.

“During the first half we did not play up to our standards in my opinion,” said Ralph Pearson, Mineral Springs head coach.  “We are missing two of our best players, which caused our defense to be a bit shaky.  We were playing very shorthanded, but we put up a good fight.”

To start the second half, neither team was able to establish any dominance on the offensive end.  Not having learned from their previous mistake, Mineral Springs had another defensive lapse and allowed the East Forsyth attacker to penetrate the defense and score another goal, giving them a two-goal lead.

Even while down two goals late in the second half, the Mineral Springs girls continued to attack and try to get back into the game.  They just could not crack the defense from East Forsyth.

With just minutes left in the game and the outcome already a foregone conclusion, the Ravens scored their third and final goal to close out the scoring for the game.

“The girls played well and they worked really hard today,” said East Forsyth Head Coach Amber Day. “Scoring that early goal allowed them to play with a little more confidence so they were not afraid to make some mistakes.  Just being able to gain more experience is great for the girls.”

Pearson added, “I always tell my girls that even when we lose, we are still winning.  My definition of, fail is, first attempt at learning, so when you look at it in that context we are still learning.  If we continue to exhibit good sportsmanship as we did today, good things will come in the future.”