Dawgs roll past Hudson 3-2 for win
By GEORGIA PURDY Newsboy Correspondent

The Jasper Bulldog soccer team picked up their first win Feb. 15, outscoring Hudson 3-2.

"We were down 2-0 early in the Hudson game but battled back to take a 3-2 lead just before the half," Coach Chris Coats said. "We came out the second half and played them tight until the game was called because of lightning. We played hard and never quit. It was what I've been looking for all season."

Zach Riggins scored two of the Bulldog goals; Ernesto Medrano scored the other.

"We pushed our defense up to keep pressure on them; other than that, we didn't really change our strategy," Coats said. "We also played without four starters, three who were out for a college visit and one had to sit out because he received a red card Tuesday night."

Tuesday night's play was not so successful. Although Jasper scored first, Livingston took the 4-1 victory.

Medrano scored the Bulldogs' goal, but Livingston came back to tie the score at the half.

"We played well until the last 15 minutes of the second half when we totally broke down," Coats said. "We quit playing as a team. In addition, two of our starters came out with injuries. Chris Guadian got kicked in the knee and Alex Guadian was kicked in the eye."

Last week the Bulldogs lost to both Jacksonville and Palestine, but showed improvement in both offense and defense.

"We played well in the first half against Jacksonville," Coats said. "We penetrated their defense several times and got several scoring opportunities. We just couldn't find the back of the net."

The second half was a different story. Coats said his team couldn't get past being intimidated by a better team. Jacksonville kept the ball on the 'Dogs half of the field in the second half and ended the game with a 10-0 victory.

"It's not lack of work, I can tell you that," he said. "We practice hard. It's just a mental thing."

Friday night Jasper traveled to Palestine to take on the Wildcats.

The Bulldogs drew first blood in the first 30 seconds on a chip shot by Zach Riggins that went over the Palestine goal keeper's head.

Palestine came right back and scored to tie it up with 25 minutes left in the first half.

"We played good defense the rest of the first half and the score was tied at the half 1-1," Coats said. "However, in the second half Jacksonville scored four unanswered goals to win the match 5-1. We played hard and never quit. Palestine is just a good soccer team, number three in the district. Kaleb Burrows played great defense and Zach Riggins lead the offense with the lone goal. We keep improving every week, which is good."