Despite a loss to Towns after making school history with a win over Stephens, the Dogs can continue to make history as they prepare for road trips to Franklin and Hebron.
On March 21, Hart hosted the Indians of Stephens County as they looked to go 3-0 for the first time in school history. After a scoreless first half of play, Cristopher Omar opened up the scoring for the Dogs six minutes into the second half of play. Midway through the second half, Manuel Velazquez Sigala extended the lead with a goal of his own to make it 2-0. With just under four minutes to play, Jose Mendez snuck a goal in to help Hart come away with a 3-0 win over the Indians to make school history.
Soccer Dogs’ head coach Ben Hudson spoke about how the win was the biggest game of the season, and how it is no longer the biggest game of the season, as they look to continue to make history in the coming weeks.
“3-0 in region play is huge for the boys,” Hudson said. “In many ways, tonight was kind of the biggest game of the season, if not, even more than that. But now with this win behind us, all of the sudden, next week becomes big with Franklin County looming next Friday. It’s another region opponent and an opportunity for Hart County to go 4-0, have a chance at hosting some playoff games for the first time in history, and compete for a region title. It could be a real moment for the boys. With that said, the big message that myself and the staff is pushing on them is that’s not enough. We want more. We have our goals set higher, and as long as we keep grinding, hopefully we can attain those goals.”
On March 25, Hart traveled to Hiawassee to take on the Indians of Towns County. The Indians jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a goal early in the first half. Sigala tied things up midway through the first half as both teams headed to the half tied at 1-1. The score remained the same at the end of regulation and forced a penalty shootout. That’s where Towns County capitalized and won the shootout 3-1 to claim a 2-1 win over the Dogs.
Hudson spoke about the tough loss and admits that they were outplayed as he wanted to carry some momentum into Friday’s big match with rival Franklin County.
“The boys started off really slow,” Hudson said. “We gave up a quick goal that we really should not have allowed. Then we earned a penalty, but unfortunately [Sigala’s] shot was saved by the keeper. [Sigala] kinda redeemed himself by scoring a goal on a hard fought thru ball to tie the game. It remained that way for most of the game, but then we got outplayed in penalties.”
The Dogs (9-3, 3-0) will travel to Carnesville to take on the Lions of Franklin County on March 28 with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. With a win over Franklin, Hart will make school history once more by being the first team to ever go 4-0 in region play and will solidify a home playoff game for the first time in the school’s history. That would then set up a potential region championship game in Dacula on April 1 against the Lions of Hebron Christian with kickoff at 7 p.m.
