Fort Mill head coach Joelle Brotemarkle said her girls’ soccer team is ‘finally stringing things together’ following Friday night’s hard-fought 3-1 loss to Clover High School in a Region 3-5A matchup at Bob Jones Stadium.
Brotemarkle said she took heart in her team’s ability to compete despite a heavy rainfall that doused the pitch and made for slippery conditions for the entire 80 minutes.
Junior midfielder Lauren Hardy opened the scoring to give Fort Mill an early 1-0 lead, but an equalizer by junior Addison Peoples tied the game just before halftime. The Yellow Jackets kept the Blue Eagles at bay for the majority of the second half, but sophomore Kaelin Antrim broke the tie with a strike in the 72nd minute before junior Ansley Drummond notched Clover’s third and final goal of the night just seven minutes later.
“We’re finally stringing things together,” Brotemarkle said. “We’re making things work. The girls never give up, they play until the last minute. We get on the board first and unfortunately; we get down because of set plays. When we go head-to-head on the field, I thought we had most of the possession. That’s the reason why they’re sad here at the end, because they fought hard to win.”
Freshman midfielder Kyla Huston sustained a leg injury near the hour mark and was carted off the field after several minutes of attention from officials and coaches. Brotemarkle said the injury was “such a shame, because she’s a great player.”
The weather was the one constant in a game that saw plenty of momentum shifts.
Hardy broke the deadlock in the 20th minute when she directed a rebound past the Clover keeper to put Fort Mill up 1-0.
Peoples equalized with a long-range shot in the 35th minute. The Yellow Jackets enjoyed a few opportunities from set pieces, but were unable to convert.
Antrim headed in the go-ahead goal from a Clover corner with eight minutes left to play to set up a nervy final few minutes of the game. By the time Drummond scored her team’s third goal deep in stoppage time, the game was in hand for the Blue Eagles.
Brotemarkle said every region game will be a tough one throughout the rest of the year because each team is competitive.
“I think we need to finish better in our attacking third,” Brotemarkle said. “It’s been our struggle. The runs are clicking, and we’re working through the midfield a bit more. I think once we fix our communication, it’ll be trying to find the net. Whether it’s a knee or toeing it in.”
Fort Mill continues the region slate with a road game at Nation Ford Tuesday, March 26 and a home game against Blythewood Thursday, March 28.
March 22 Roundup
The Fort Mill boys’ soccer team fell on the road at Clover by a score of 2-1 to drop to 3-1 in Region 3-5A and 7-5-1 overall.
The Nation Ford boys’ soccer team beat Spring Valley 1-0 at home to improve to 3-1 in Region 3-5A and 12-3-1 overall on the season.
The Nation Ford girls’ lacrosse team won at Butler High School 12-0 to improve to 8-2 overall on the season.
