Gilmer Bobcat soccer earned another victory.
GHS was on the field for a pair of nonregion matches last Monday and Tuesday against Towns County and Adairsville. The Indians were up first, and the host Bobcats won decisively, 3-0.
GHS was back on its temporary home field at Clear Creek Middle School the next day, and the Tigers escaped with a 2-1 win.
Versus Towns, GHS took a 1-0 lead in the opening half. Some nice passing led Brayner Ortiz into open space inside the box, and he pelted home Gilmer’s first goal.
In the second half, Connor Seim was given space to operate, and he fired a shot from the top left corner of the 18-yard box that curled inside the far post. The Cats added an insurance goal when Angel Garcia got loose at the top of the box and slotted the ball in the left side of the net.
Bobcats Domingo Lucas-Velasquez and Alex Tercero both notched assists for GHS.
Adairsville kept the Bobcats’ defense on its heels in the first half Tuesday. The Tigers had possession for nearly 60 percent of the half and forced Bobcat goalkeeper Talyn Curtis into action after just 45 seconds of play.
Both Tercero and Seim provided Gilmer’s initial chances, but Adairsville struck first. After nearly 16 minutes of play, an AHS throw in was only cleared to the top of the box. A Tiger met the ball with no defensive pressure for an 18-yard goal.
Adairsville continued to press forward and cashed in again just before the half. A 20-yard shot from the left wing found the upper right corner of the net.
“We came out flat in first half, and ended up switching formations about halfway through,” said head coach Taylor Johnstone. “We weren’t winning many of the 50/50 balls, weren’t making pass strings and were playing too much individually.”
GHS got a goal eight minutes into the second half as Noah Turner continued to be a valuable free kick asset. His blast from midfield brought Adairsiville’s goalkeeper off his line, but he misjudged the trajectory as the ball soared beyond his grasp and into the net.
Gilmer kept its foot on the gas over the final 30 minutes. AHS saved four shots from inside the 18-yard box over that span, which included threatening opportunities by Seim, Tercero and Lucas-Velasquez.
“At halftime, we addressed all of our concerns and made some minor adjustments on our shot selections that helped us in the end,” Johnstone said. “I was upset with the loss, but glad we figured out a way to turn it around and play a tremendously better second half.”
Curtis finished with 10 saves for the Cats. The loss dropped Gilmer’s record to 3-1. GHS traveled to Cherokee at press deadline and will begin region play Friday at Wesleyan at 7:30 p.m.