Lady Tigers pick up first win of season against Pickens

The Dawson Co. Lady Tigers varsity soccer team was firing on all cylinders as they struck fast and often Tuesday, Feb. 25, routing the Pickens Lady Dragons by a final score of 5-0 in Dawsonville for the team’s first win of the 2020 season.

“It’s been a challenge this year, wins have been hard to come by,” head coach Chess Hamby said. “We’ve played some quality opponents. Hopefully, it pays off in March and April when we hit regional play.”

The Lady Tigers were on the attack from the very first minute of the game, creating shooting opportunities on nearly every possession, but it wasn’t until the 31st minute of play that junior Molly Muenchen connected on a beautiful cross from Piper Wright to allow the Lady Tigers to head into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

“Everything came together for us as a team tonight,” Muenchen said. “This win will definitely build some confidence for us to take into our first region game next week.”

The second half was all Dawson Co. as the squad continued to apply pressure deep in Pickens’ half of the field. Muenchen opened the scoring with her second goal, assisted by a pass from forward Clarise Griffith, to put Dawson Co. up by two.

Annie Gloeckner effectively put the lid on the game with a pair of goals fifteen minutes apart, driving home a short shot through traffic with 28:55 remaining. She then nailed a solid mid-field shot off the upper crossbar in the game’s 66th minute to extend the Lady Tigers’ lead to 4-0.

Muenchen put the icing on the cake with 8:23 left on the clock as she blasted a penalty shot past the Pickens’ keeper to complete the hat trick.

Dawson Co.’s passing game was on target all night and generated multiple scoring opportunities for the Lady Tigers who amassed an astounding 28 shots on goal and tallied five assists. In addition to Wright and Griffith; Maggie Wright, Liz Lessard, and Emily Varca all provided support on the team’s five goals.

“I’m very proud of these girls, we’ve got great leadership,” Hamby said. “There’s a lot of young girls that grew up tonight and the older girls were there motivating them and coaching them up on the field and I really appreciate that.”

With the win the Lady Tigers move to 1-4-1 on the season and will be back on the road against the Calhoun Yellow Jackets on Friday, Feb. 28, before opening their regional schedule against the Greater Atlanta Christian Lady Spartans in the first week of March.