Jekyll Island, Savannah, Georgia — Statesboro Varsity Soccer traveled to Jekyll Island for the three-day "Tournament of Champions." On the first night (Thursday, March 7, 2024) the Blue Devils fell short to North Oconee with the Lady Blue Devils losing 4-0 and the Blue Devils 3-1.
The Lady Blue Devils Eased Up On Defense
The North Oconee HS has a great team who is undefeated in their region. The Lady Blue Devils played a great defensive game to hold the score to 0-0 until the last 25-30 minutes of the game where North Oconee was able to score 4 goals.
“Our girls played tough, they went in knowing some people saw it as an easy win for North Oconee and I think they proved them wrong,” Lady Blue Devils head coach Sarah Parker said. “Not every win comes with the leading score, the girls showed up and made them work for their win. I’m very proud of the effort they put into this game and now we just look forward to our next game of the tournament.”
A big piece of their play tonight was senior goalkeeper Demia Hartwell.
“Our keeper, Demia Hartwell, played a great game in net and as our final line of defense she was solid. They took some great shots and Demia made some amazing saves,” Parker said.
The Blue Devils Couldn’t Find Their Rhythm
Following a scoreless first half, North Oconee scored three goals to put Statesboro in a hole they were unable to dig out of as the Blue Devils fell 3-1 Thursday on the opening day of the Tournament of Champions at Jekyll Island.
Francisco Rodriguez scored the lone goal for Statesboro in the closing minutes of the game to get the Blue Devils on the board but it was too little too late. Rodriguez’s goal came following a corner kick that North Oconee was unable to clear. After a failed effort to clear the threat, the ball fell to Rodriguez’s feet about 20 yards out and he was able to fire a shot past the Titan’s goalkeeper.
“First off, shout out to North Oconee for playing well,” said SHS Head Coach Jared Simonin. “It comes down to the little things and the simple stuff that we didn’t do well enough. We had plenty of chances.”
Blue Devils’ goalkeeper Creighton Horst kept the damage from being worse for SHS. Midway through the first half a Titans’ shot squirmed past him, but he was able to recover and bat the ball off the end line to keep the game scoreless.
Up Next
Both Blue Devil teams return to action Friday, March 8, when the Lady Blue Devils face Rome High School at 7 p.m., and the Blue Devils face Westminster Schools of Augusta at 5:20 p.m.
