The Bainbridge Bearcats varsity boys soccer secured their first region win of the season in a 3-0 victory against the Lee County Trojans Friday night in Leesburg. They remain undefeated this season.
In the 24th minute Bearcat senior midfielder Luis Mejia stole the ball from a Lee county player, dribbled through three opposing players and took a 25-yard shot from center that went through the right side of the goal to give Bainbridge a 1-0 lead.
In a tough battle between rivals that saw many exchanges, the Bearcats were able to strike their second goal of the contest in the 66th minute as Bainbridge junior forward Emilio Hernandez crossed in a corner kick from the right side to Mejia who was under pressure by the Trojan defense but headed it to the back of the goal from 5-yards out.
The final goal of the night came with less than a minute remaining as Hernandez took a short corner pass on the left side from Mejia and drilled a 12-yard shot giving Bainbridge a well earned 3-0 victory.
The Bearcats are now 5-0-1 on the season and 1-0 in region play.
In the girls contest, the Lee County Lady Trojans took a 3-0 half time lead and added five more goals in the second half for an 8-0 victory.
The Lady Trojans took a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute as a Lee County midfielder scored on a 12-yard shot from the left side. The pass was the end result of a well-placed diagonal to a Lee County forward who passed back to her teammate.
Lee County’s score increased at 2-0 in the 29th minute as a throw in into the Bainbridge penalty area created a rush to the ball by two Lady Cat defenders who collided trying to intercept the pass.
A Lady Trojan forward seized the opportunity and got off a shot 15-yards out near the end line. A Bainbridge defender deflected the shot, but it took an unfortunate spin for the Lady Bearcats and into the goal.
The final Lee County goal of the first half came in the 34th minute as a Lady Trojan pass split the Bainbridge defense in which a Lee County forward finished with a shot at the right post.
Lee County scored five second half goals in the 42nd, 51st, 55th, 77th and 79th minutes to complete the 8-0 victory.
The loss drops the Lady Bearcats to 2-3-1 on the season.
Both varsity squads hosted Berrien Tuesday night at Centennial field and will host Northside Columbus in a region contest Thursday.