Bainbridge High School’s boys soccer team split their most recent games, defeating Dougherty County on Thursday by a 5-2 score, but falling in a close 1-0 loss at Thomas County Central on Tuesday.

The Bearcats’ current record is 7-3 overall and 1-2 in region play. Bainbridge’s next game is Tuesday at home against Americus-Sumter at 7 p.m.

 

Bainbridge 5, Dougherty County 2

Louis Mejia opened the scoring for the Bearcats in the 19th minute Thursday, when he converted a penalty kick following a Dougherty County foul inside the Bainbridge penalty area. The score remained 1-0 through halftime.

Early in the second half, the Trojans scored two straight goals to take a 2-1 lead.

In the 56th minute, Baibnridge’s Emilio Hernandez freed himself inside the Dougherty penalty area and hit a low-crossing shot into the lower frame of the goal to tie the game and give the Bearcats new life.

In the 63rd minute, Daniel Provence hit a shot to the lower-right portion of the goal, after taking an assist from Josh Rivera, to give the Bearcats a 3-2 lead. In the 65th minute, Hernandez took another turn at scoring when he took an assist from Provence and converted inside the penalty area.

Provence closed out the scoring in the 69th minute, picking up an assist from Rivera.

“I was glad that we were able to win the game,” Bainbridge coach Jamie Ard said. “I didn’t necessarily like how we won, because we put ourselves in a hole, but at least we were able to fight out of our funk and win the game. I hope the guys can take some confidence away from this game, as we had to fight back to win.

“We dominate possession of the ball in most games that we play, but we have little to show from it, as far as goal-scoring goes. We have got to do a better job turning our possession of the ball into goals on the scoreboard. We’ve also got to come out and play with intensity and focus for the entire game, and not just for 15 to 20 minutes a game.”

Ard said his team changed formations to allow both Hernandez and Provence to play the striker position.

“They worked well together as they got more accustomed to the formation,” Ard said. “I hope they can continue to provide goals for us as they partner together at striker.”

 

Thomas County Central 1, Bainbridge 0

The game remained scoreless Tuesday until the 59th minute, when a Yellow Jackets player beat a Bearcats defender on the outside flank and cut with the ball to the middle of the field for a successful shot on goal.

Bainbridge coach Jamie Ard said that despite his team’s close loss, he was somewhat pleased with their overall performance against Central.

“I thought we played the way I want us to play and the way we needed to play for the last 15 or 20 minutes of the game when we were trying so desperately to score the tying goal, he said. “Had we played that well the previous 60 minutes, we might have won the game. It is incredibly frustrating as a coach to know what your team is capable of, then seeing them not play up to their potential for most of the game.

“Although Lee County and Central, our last two opponents, have been good quality teams, we have just not played the quality of soccer that we are capable of playing. I am the coach and I will take responsibility for that.

“I felt that Carlos Becerra played well on the wing for us. He had opportunities to score and he helped get others opportunities to score. Villeser Sarmiento was our most stable player on defense on the night. He worked hard all night to keep the ball out of the back of the net.”