The Gilmer Bobcats ended their soccer season by thrashing Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe.
GHS hosted the Warriors for senior night last Thursday, and Bobcats mercy-ruled LFO, 10-0. Gilmer hosted Wesleyan two days prior to wrap up its region schedule, and the Wolves won, 4-0.
“The LFO pregame speech was bittersweet,” said head coach Taylor Johnstone. “I asked the boys to go out and take care of business, but have some fun doing it. We wanted to set the tone for next year. I’d say they responded well with seven of 10 goals being scored by seniors. Defense played fantastic, and only allowed the keepers two saves the entire game.”
LFO appeared to play like a team who was ready for the season to be over. Meanwhile, the Bobcats thrived in the continual winds that whipped through Huff-Mosley Memorial Stadium and rain that drenched Pettit Field.
GHS dominated possession all night, and much of the game was played in Warrior territory. Barely more than seven minutes into the game, Gilmer scored with a 20-yard shot along the right edge of the box. Sebastian Raymundo’s shot even managed to roll inside the near post, as the Warrior goalkeeper did not make a play on the ball.
Three minutes later, Cris Chun Bail got a centered pass from Raymundo. He tucked his 20-yard shot inside the near post as well. With 21:09 on the clock, Gilmer added another magnificent goal. Lleison Puac’s cross was met with the right foot of Sebastian Lucas, who volleyed the ball into the top right corner of the net from 10 yards out.
With a 3-0 edge, Gilmer added another goal with 22 minutes left in the half. Bobcat Noah Turner sent a free kick across midfield, which was headed by a Warrior 27 yards from the goal. A charging Lucas gained possession and sent a 15-yard left-footed shot into the bottom left of the net.
Thirty seconds later, Liam Engel dribbled around two Warrior defenders, then ran over a third before firing the ball into the net from 13 yards away.
Ahead 5-0, Engel was part of the Cats’ sixth goal with 15 minutes left in the half. GHS goalkeeper Talyn Curtis started the counter attack and rolled the ball to Engel, who took five touches before sending a through ball to Turner. He was able to track the pass down just yards away from the goal along the left side, and he managed to poke the ball inside the near post.
The Cats’ went ahead 7-0 10 minutes later. Pascual Escobar intercepted a pass in front of the goal and spun to his left before sending a 20-yard shot into the goal.
The second half was shortened from 40 minutes to 20. Bobcat Jerson Lopez initially had his shot saved, but he scored the rebound just over a minute into the half. Miguel Reynoso then sent a pass to Ortiz, who timed his run perfectly. He scored from 8 yards out with five minutes left to play.
GHS still was not done. Deyson Lopez’s goal ended the game prematurely after dribbling past a defender and firing an 18-yard shot past the Warriors’ goalkeeper.
Region leading Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead into the half Tuesday. The Wolves scored three more goals over the final 40 minutes for its fifth region win.
“This is a very memorable group of seniors,” Johnstone said. “They have come a long way, some have been with us four years and some only two and three. They are a great group of boys on and off the pitch. This is one of the best groups of seniors that I have been around in my whole coaching career based off their leadership. Every single one of the seniors played a crucial role in setting the expectations for our program.”
Gilmer posed a 7-8-1 record on the year. The Bobcats were 2-4 versus region opponents and finished fifth in the standings.
“Our record may not show that we had a ‘successful’ season, but we as a staff believe otherwise,” said Johnstone. “We set new expectations on how we will play. The boys were challenged at practice and throughout the season, and their skills improved drastically. They played as a team and not individuals.
“We battled and climbed our way out of the hole (of losing seven straight) and ended the season 4-1-1, and our final record was 7-8-1. Even after graduating 10 seniors, the future looks bright. We have 12 returning players who started a varsity game at some point this season.”