The Class AA No. 7 ranked Dawson County Lady Tigers soccer team had a grand weekend playing in the Tournament of Champions in Jekyll Island.
Coach Jed Lacey's team went 2-1 and defeated Richmond Academy, 4-0, Cedar Shoals, 4-0, before losing the last game to a very skillful team in Strong Rock Christian Academy, 2-0.
"The teams we played were very good teams and all three played different styles," Lacey said. "You come to Jekyll to see how good you are and I thought we came away very satisfied. We also found things we need to work on."
On March 15, Dawson matched up with Class AAA opponent Richmond Academy from Augusta.
The Musketeers (8-3-1) played a good game defensively in the first half and trailed 1-0 on a goal by Lady Tiger Mckay Shively on an assist by Taylor Bennett.
Richmond Academy folded under the Dawson offensive attack in the second half. Shively scored quickly on a pass from Riley Cox to make the score 2-0.
The Lady Tigers added two more goals from senior Brooke Shively, with an assist by Allie Costley, and a goal at the 9-minute mark by Jade Perry put the game out of reach.
Friday the Lady Tigers took on Class AAAA Cedar Shoals from Athens. The Lady Jaguars came into the contest with a 1-5 record.
Dawson County jumped out quickly as Mckay Shively scored her 10th goal of the season after running into a pass by Perry and blasting the ball past the Cedar Shoals goalie with 28:43 left in the first half.
Five minutes later, Perry scored a goal with an assist by Bennett. The Lady Tigers went into the dressing room with a 2-0 halftime advantage.
Perry opened the second half scoring her second goal of the game on a pass from Morgan Callas to put the game out of reach at 3-0.
It was Perry's fourth goal of the season.
Freshman Bennett scored her third goal of the season with only 6 minutes left in the contest.
For the final game of the tournament Dawson County played a tough Strong Rock Christian squad. The Lady Patriots (6-2-1) scored a goal in each half to come away with the win.
"I thought the keepers Anela Melton, Kenna Seitz and Stephanie Lefler did a great job keeping the ball out of the net to give us two shutouts. Mckay Shively did a great job up top putting in three goals in the tournament. Mckay has come in here and done a great job as a freshman and has helped our offense have the firepower it needed," Lacey said.
The Lady Tigers start four freshman and three sophomores.
"Usually this [starting underclassmen] means you are rebuilding and you are going to see a lot of mistakes," Lacey said. "But all these girls play major minutes and it makes us feel good about the future.
"I am so proud of these girls in how hard they work and play the game of soccer. We just keep growing every game as a team and in our individual play. These girls want to be the best they can be and they are doing it every time they step on the field," he added.
The Lady Tigers are currently 7-2 on the season.
This week, Dawson will have two big region games at Rabun County on March 21 and at home with East Hall on Friday. Kickoff for both games will be 5 p.m.