Williamsburg’s Ethan Pelletier sends a ball downfield for the Wildcats. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Lady G-Men fall to Lady Wildcats in nightcap
Williamsburg’s Ethan Shouse prepares to pass the ball to a teammate. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Georgetown’s Jaxon Galley gains control of a pass against Williamsburg. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Georgetown’s Gideon Klump (10) jostles with Williamsburg’s Zach Earley (23) in the G-Men’s 6-3 win over the Wildcats. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Williamsburg’s Josh Raymond launches the ball into the attacking third for the Wildcats. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Georgetown’s Alex Underwood knocks down a Williamsburg pass. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Georgetown’s Carson Miles recorded a hat trick against the Wildcats. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Georgetown’s Austin Miles clears the ball away from the Georgetown goal. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Georgetown’s Leila Gullett flicks the ball to herself. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Georgetown’s Stacy Smith controls the ball for the Lady G-Men. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Georgetown goalkeeper Erin Stansberry recorded 15 saves against Williamsburg. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Georgetown’s Anistin Fender tallied the Lady G-Men’s lone goal in the team’s game against Williamsburg. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Williamsburg’s Hope Arno kicks the ball into the box for the Lady Wildcats. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Williamsburg’s Ava Watts scored twice against Georgetown. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Williamsburg’s Kiley Caudill sends the ball upfield against Georgetown. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Williamsburg’s Lilli Gilliam attempts to keep the ball in play along the touch line. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Soccer teams from Georgetown and Williamsburg split a pair of league matchups at Brian Grant Stadium on Thursday, September 1.
First, the boys teams from the two districts squared off in a wild back-and-forth battle of undefeated squads.
Georgetown’s Carson Miles got the scoring started in the ninth minute of the first half to put the G-Men ahead 1-0. Jaxson Marks tallied a goal for the G-Men roughly one minute later to put the hosts on top 2-0.
Williamsburg’s Austin Heffner answered in the 17th minute, heading in a cross from Eli Jones to cut the deficit in half. Heffner struck again one minute later to tie the match at two.
The teams weren’t done. Georgetown retook the lead in the 25th minute on a goal by Cole Hudson. Six minutes later, Eli Jones tallied his league-leading 16th goal for the Wildcats to tie the game at three. It would stay tied at the end of the first half despite Georgetown’s best efforts.
“We didn’t finish,” Georgetown head coach Grant Loudon said. “We had many opportunities that just didn’t hit the back of the net. That’ll kill you.”
Loudon said the G-Men played directly into Williamsburg’s hand in the first half of the game.
“We got a little too kicky, little too direct with what we were doing,” Loudon said. “Kind of played into their speed, their ability to counter.”
Miles broke the tie in the 31st minute of the second half. Officials huddled to discuss a possible handball, but the goal stood.
Marks added a second goal two minutes later for a 5-3 Georgetown lead. Miles struck with about 30 seconds remaining for the game’s final score.
Williamsburg head coach Tim Pelletier said the Wildcats didn’t do a good job keeping focus once things started getting out of hand in the second half.
“I think there were just some bad calls that happened and we didn’t stay disciplined,” Pelletier said. “Last year, that first half, we were losing one of our games 5-0. 3-3 was awesome.”
As of this writing, Jones currently leads the state in goals scored according to MaxPreps. His 34 points are third in Ohio. He and the Wildcats are currently 4-1 overall, 1-1 in league play.
“They have the best beginning record of any soccer team at Williamsburg,” Pelletier said. “They’re still the best soccer team we’ve seen at Williamsburg and we just have to work tomorrow.”
Georgetown improved to 5-0 overall, 3-0 in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference’s National Division. The G-Men shared the league title with Bethel-Tate last year but with the Tigers currently in the middle of the pack the league race is wide open.
“I think [Williamsburg] knocked the wind out of us a little bit,” Loudon said. “Every game is going to be the same way. Everybody’s going to be wanting to be in that top spot. Everyone is going to have to be ready to play every game, for sure.”
There was just as much offensive output in the girls game that followed but unfortunately for the hosts most of it came via the Lady Wildcats.
Williamsburg’s girls team defeated Georgetown 8-1. The Lady G-Men scored their lone goal in the second half off the foot of Anistin Fender.
Williamsburg’s Kaitlyn Gregory tallied three goals and an assist. Ava Watts scored twice for the Lady Wildcats as did Kiley Caudill. Caitlyn Chandler had one goal for the Lady Wildcats. While Gregory gets the headlines, it’s important to Williamsburg head coach Brian Hart for the Wildcats to have other options on the attack.
“Realistically, Kaitlyn Gregory is obviously a threat,” Hart said. “When you have other girls you have to worry about, it takes heat off her.”
Kiera Gregory had two assists. Lilli Gilliam and Aila Pelletier tallied one assist each for Williamsburg.
“I like speed,” Hart said. “I like speed and aggression. That quick transfer of play, you see what it does. It wears them out, which is good.”
Defensively, the Lady Wildcats held Georgetown to just three shots, only one of which went on goal.
“Once they can get settled in and pay attention to the marks and the runners, they lock it down,” Hart said. “They’re young, we have one senior.”
Georgetown’s Erin Stansberry made 15 saves in the contest. She and the Lady G-Men fell to 0-6 overall, 0-4 in league play with the loss but head coach Jenny Campbell sees signs of growth from the Lady G-Men.
“We have a very young team,” Campbell said. “One senior, four juniors, two girls that came out this season that hadn’t played before. Our thing this year is working on getting the girls used to the ball, moving on the field. Overall, we’ve improved.”
That improvement is boosted by how well the team has meshed overall this season.
“They’re a close-knit group,” Campbell said. “It’s good to see them working and learning together.”
Georgetown’s next games are at Felicity on Tuesday, September 13. The Wildcats host Clermont Northeastern on Thursday, September 8.
