The Gilmer Bobcats picked up two more soccer victories and are now ranked in the top 10.
GHS hosted North Murray last Monday and downed the Mountaineers, 2-1. The Bobcats returned to region action on the road Friday versus the North Hall Trojans. The two squads battled in a physical game, and a late Bobcat goal allowed GHS to come away with a 1-0 win.
For their efforts, Gilmer has crept into MaxPreps.com’s rankings as the No. 9 team in Class 3A.
Versus North Murray, coach Simon Phipps fielded a revamped lineup with two impending region games on the horizon. Just three of Gilmer’s regular 11 starters were on the field at the beginning, and 21 total players took the field by the end.
“Due to recent results in our region, we made the decision to give some players rest periods and shorter playing time in this game,” Phipps said.
“We started the game well, and we put some good passages of play together early, as I have said all season, we have been really focusing on our passing on the ground and our movement off the ball this year. It was nice to see our players trying to reproduce some of what we do in training every day.”
Gilmer did not waste much time getting a lead. After 10 minutes of play, Gaspar Perez scored after receiving a through ball from Julien Withrow. Nineteen minutes later it was Withrow’s turn. He blasted a shot from just outside the 18-yard box and into the net.
“We went in up 2-0 at the halftime. We told the boys that we were going to make more changes during the halftime just to make sure we got as many players time as possible,” Phipps said.
NMHS scored shortly after the teams returned to the field for the second half, but the Bobcats did not surrender the equalizing goal over the remaining 38 minutes of play.
GHS was tasked with playing in tight quarters at North Hall. The Trojans’ playing area is not much wider than their football field, which is significantly more narrow than Gilmer’s Pettit Field.
Physical play ensued, and a Trojan suffered a broken leg in the opening half, which led to a 30-minute delay.
“North Hall played a tough physical game and came out onto the field expecting a win against us. Our boys also played a physical game, and this lead to some of the fluidity of our play being disrupted,” Phipps noted.
Both teams received shots from afar but did not make any threatening runs in the box. The first half ended with the score knotted at 0-0.
Phipps made some formation changes at halftime in effort to gain more possession and control of the midfield. The adjustments paid off, and the Bobcats were able to gain more balance in their attack.
With less than 10 minutes to play, Withrow made a run into the box and was blocked and taken down. A penalty was awarded, and Withrow hammered the ball into the lower left corner of the goal.
GHS shifted into a more defensive formation over the waning moments of the game and held on for another region win.
“Our defense and midfield really won us the game,” Phipps said. “Marcos Alonso and Noah Turner (eight saves) really had strong games. We are now 2-1 in the region with three more tough region games to come.”
Gilmer is 5-1 overall. The Bobcats will continue region play Wednesday when they travel to Cherokee Bluff for a 7 p.m. game.