The Dawson County High School varsity girls' soccer team suffered its first defeat of the season last week.

Coach Jed Lacey's squad traveled to Buford (10-2-0) March 25 and lost 2-1 to the state-ranked Lady Wolves.

Buford scored first on a goal by Elexa Bahr with 22:11 left before halftime. The Lady Wolves took the 1-0 lead into halftime.

Tina Libao for Dawson County answered with 17:50 left before the end of the game. Libao hit a free kick from 30-yards out for her fourth goal of the season.

"Tina hit a blast from 30-yards out that landed in the back of the net. Tina is starting to get past her injuries that have slowed her down this year and showing signs of the outstanding season she had last year as a freshman," Lacey said.

The Lady Wolves won the game on a controversial call with just 4:05 remaining before time expired. Buford player Bre Smith seemed to commit a handball foul, both teams stopped play waiting on a call from the referee that never came.

"We were so close again of beating Buford," Lacey said. "This was our first loss of the season and our girls took it pretty hard. Buford is so talented, but our girls played hard and had a chance to win. The second goal I thought should not have counted because of the hand ball, but it was our fault for not playing to the whistle.

"Anela Melton did a great job in goal and gave us a chance to win right up to the last whistle. Anela is so skilled back there," he added.

Dawson County rebounded with a 2-0 win over North Hall (4-7-1) on March 28 at Tigers Stadium.

Libao gave the Lady Tigers a 1-0 lead with 25:17 before halftime on an assist by Taylor Bennett.

In the second half, freshman Kathryn Ryerse added a second goal with 15:34 left in the game on a corner kick.

Goalie Melton picked up her seventh shutout of the season and the teams eighth. Melton is one shutout away from breaking the school record.

"We are gearing up for the playoffs and getting our ducks in a row. Our defense is looking good and we have made some changes to get Ava Walker back there with fellow freshman Devon Coates to solidify our defense. We want to be playing at our best when the tournament begins and we are heading in that direction. I like how the girls are coming together and expect us to be rolling and ready for the first round," Lacey said.

Dawson County is currently 9-1-2 overall and 3-1 in Region 7-AAA play.

The team in currently ranked No. 4 in Class AAA.

The team is off until after spring break. The Lady Tigers will play their next game on April 11 at Wesleyan (3-6-0).