Senior stars send strong statement in second round
May 4, 2016 – A Lady Panther fights two players for the ball. Starr’s Mill posted two goals in an offense-heavy first half. Starr’s Mill posted two goals in an offense-heavy first half, but the tempo slowed in the second half. Despite the change of pace, the Lady Panthers were able to score two more goals when they turned back to a more aggressive approach.
May 6, 2016
The Lady Panthers were led by seniors Leslie Logan and Riley Clark in the 4-0 win over the Heritage Patriots in the second round of the state playoffs.
“We started to just kick the ball towards the goal,” Clark said, “but then settled into it and got a score on the board.”
May 4, 2016 – A Lady Panther dribbles the ball up the field toward the goal. Starr’s Mill defeated the Heritage Patriots 4-0 in the second round of the state playoffs.
The Lady Panthers started the game off with the ball, but they were not able to put pressure onto the keeper until later in the half, scoring two goals before the break.
Logan scored the first goal for Starr’s Mill in the 25th minute while being heavily guarded. The goal was assisted by Clark.
The ball was constantly being shot at the goal by Starr’s Mill, but the Lady Panthers couldn’t connect again until Clark scored her goal. In the 39th minute, Clark scored the second goal of the game when the goalie attacked and gave her a wide open shot to the corner of the goal.
“We started off intense in the first half,” senior Dylan Patterson said, “but we picked the intensity back up at the end of the second half, giving us two more goals.”
The second half started differently, with the Patriots getting possession of the ball first but could not score. The Lady Panthers were tested harder in the second half, but Clark still managed to score two goals.
May 4, 2016 – A Lady Panthers fights aggressively with a Patriot player to gain possession of the ball. “We feed off of the intensity,” senior Riley Clark said. “And we give our all to get to the end.” Clark showed her intensity by scoring three goals in the team’s 4-0 win over the Patriots.
In the 12th minute, Clark scored her second goal and the third for the Lady Panthers with another wide open shot from the top of the box. Thirty seconds later the fourth and final goal was scored by Clark when senior Lauren Yoss attempted a shot but was blocked by the keeper and Clark saw the opportunity and head butted the ball back into the goal.
“Playing teams with a closer score [not winning in a complete shut out],” Clark said. “We work a lot harder and we push harder and we try to never let up.”
The Lady Panthers will play North Atlanta next in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs tonight. North Atlanta, the No. 1 seed from region 7 AAAAA, defeated Camden County 6-0 in their second round game of the state playoffs.
“This game means we get to play [at least] one last time,” Clark said. “We don’t have to give up this jersey forever and know that our career here has come to an end.”
