The Tiger varsity boys soccer team opened the Region 8-AA season with two big wins over Banks County, 2-0, and Rabun County, 6-1, last week. Both games were played at Tiger Stadium in Dawsonville.
With the two wins Dawson moved to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the region. The team is also currently ranked No. 10 in AA in men’s soccer. The ranking marks the first time in school history that the team has been ranked in the top 10 standings.
This week the Tigers will travel to defending state champion Thomasville on Thursday and play Worth County on Saturday before returning home.
Thomasville finished the 2010 campaign with a 19-0-4 record.
Currently the team is 3-2.
Worth County will be the Tigers’ opponent on Saturday. Worth is 2-5 on the season.
The game was hard fought last Tuesday against Banks County. The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half behind goals from Sam Wentworth, his first goal of the season, and Jose Miranda at the 32:58 mark. The goal marked Miranda’s sixth of the season.
“It was a big win to start the region season off. Banks played a good game. They were so defensive minded it was hard to find the net,” said Head Coach Jed Lacey
Wentworth’s goal was beautiful. He found a crease in the Banks County defense and scored on a great pass from Tyler Freeman to put Dawson up 1-0.
The second Dawson goal was on a rebound to the foot of Miranda. Miranda slammed the ball past the Leopard goalie to give Dawson a huge 2-0 lead.
The two goals were all the Tigers needed to come away with the win.
Freshman Brooks Fulford did a great job in goal for the Tigers. He earned his second shutout in as many starts.
Rabun County traveled to Dawsonville on Friday. Despite the cold and windy evening the Tigers dominated almost every aspect of the game and came away with the 6-1 win.
Josh Lund scored a hat trick for the Tigers. Also scoring for Dawson were Tyler Freeman, Sam Edwards and Max Muldoon. The goals were the first of the season for Freeman, Edwards and Muldoon.
“I am so proud of our players tonight. We figured out how to score against a very good Rabun County team. We are making great passes and making our runs toward the goal and it is opening up the opponents defense and we are taking advantage of i,” Lacey said.
Dawson scored just 8 minutes into the game off the foot of Freeman. Freeman struck the ball from 25-yards out past the Rabun goalie.
Lund scored just two minutes before the half to give Dawson a 2-1 halftime lead.
The Tigers poured on the offense in the second half. Lund added two more goals in the second half at 24:59 and 6:14 to open up the lead.
“Josh has worked so hard for us this year and has had a hard time finding the back of the net, but tonight he finally came alive for us offensively,” Lacey said.
Last year’s starting goalie, Sam Edwards, moved from goalie to forward for the game. He answered with the third goal of the evening on a beautiful pass from teammate Cody McGinnis to score his first goal of the season.
With only two minutes remaining, freshman Max Muldoon took a rebound off the Rabun goalie on a shot from teammate Drew Bishop to score his first varsity goal.