BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA – After dropping their opening game of 7A Area 4 play, the Opelika High School girls’ and boys’ soccer teams looked to get back on track at home against Auburn High School on March 5.
Instead of regaining their footing, Opelika was swept at Bulldog Stadium as the Lady Tigers mercy ruled the Lady Bulldogs 10-0 while the Tigers secured a 5-1 victory over the Bulldogs.
With the victory, the Lady Tigers improved to 7-1 while the Lady Bulldogs fell to 1-5-2. The Tigers strengthened their record to 4-3-1 while the Bulldogs dropped to 1-7.
The Lady Tigers started the match with possession of the ball and immediately set the tone for the rest of the game. While the Lady Bulldogs attempted to threaten early, Auburn dominated possession in the opening minutes and had several scoring opportunities that did not connect.
Auburn’s Paige Martin broke the deadlock with 21:26 left to play in the first half after Claire Nappier played a precise cutback pass inside the box.
After providing the assist, Nappier punched her name on the scoresheet a minute and 16 seconds later, scoring a one-on-one with the keeper after taking a Lulabelle Hammer pass through the heart of Opelika’s defense with little resistance.
While the Lady Bulldogs offered more resistance moving forward, it was not enough to keep the Lady Tigers from scoring again. With 10:14 left to play in the half, Laila Simmons rose and scored on a header made possible by Martin’s accurate corner pass.
Several minutes later, Simmons scored another header, this time delivered by Ryan Ferguson, after chaos around the goal prevented Opelika’s defense from locating and clearing the ball.
With just under four minutes left until halftime, Caroline Northcutt pounced on a failed corner that rattled around in the box, scoring the Lady Tigers’ fifth goal of the half.
As a cold drizzle enveloped Bulldog Stadium, both teams retreated to their respective locker rooms with Auburn up 5-0.
Following the break, the second half started much like the first with the Lady Tiger continuing to dominate possession, though the Lady Bulldogs made an extra effort to constrict passing lanes.
That resistance was broken after 13 minutes when a controversial penalty call gave Abigail Counts the opportunity to put Auburn up 6-0. Counts ultimately made her chance count by slotting home a cool finish.
From there, things went from bad to worse for Opelika as the Lady Tigers had seemingly every chance in the world to pour on shots. One finally slipped through after Addison Yates perfectly placed a low shot just inside the left post with 14:14 left to play.
Just over a minute later, Peyton Bishop notched the Lady Tigers’ eighth goal of the game with a majestic curling shot from outside the box that made the possibility of the mercy rule distinct.
Auburn’s next real scoring opportunity came just under six minutes later as Hammer tacked her name onto the scoresheet after holding off defenders as the ball rattled around the box, scoring mere feet from the goal.
With the Lady Tigers up 9-0, Counts recorded her second goal of the game from the edge of the box. With the Lady Tigers ahead 10-0 and 4:53 left on the clock, the referees initiated the mercy rule and ruled the game was over.
Like the girls’ game, Auburn began the match with the ball. For much of the first half, the two teams fought mostly in the middle of the field to establish dominance, although the Tigers slowly took control of the game and had the better scoring chances.
Then, 24 minutes after the opening kick, Auburn’s Matthew Bolding raced down the left wing, outpacing the Opelika defense, and opened the scoring with a nice goal with 15:50 left in the half.
From there, it did not take long for the Tigers to add to their advantage. Less than three minutes later, William Ballard connected on a long-distance shot on the half-bounce after a failed corner caused the ball to get lost in a mass of bodies clumped around the goal.
Despite the comfortable lead, disaster struck the Tigers just five seconds before halftime. With the ball inside the box, Auburn goalkeeper gave the ball away to Gerardo Selvas in front of an open goal.
That gave the Bulldogs their first goal of the game and cut Auburn’s lead to 2-1 at halftime.
As the second half began, the Tigers came out prepared to regain their multi-goal advantage. With less than three minutes played, Bolding added his second goal of the game after a low cross across the box that the Opelika defense could not secure.
Down two goals, the Bulldogs attempted to fight their way back into the game. Their aspirations fell short though as Adrian Pillaca put the game out of reach with a curling shot from outside of the box.
At that point, Auburn led 4-1 with just over 29 minutes left to play.
Less than two minutes later, Jackson Heisler’s low left footed shot inside the box that just got past the goalkeeper put the icing on the cake as the Tigers cruised to victory over the Bulldogs.
What’s Next
Since defeating the Lady Bulldogs, the Lady Tigers lost 1-0 and the Tigers lost 2-1 at Oak Mountain on March 6.
Auburn will play at Prattville on March 18, with the girls game beginning at 5 p.m. and the boys game following.
Since losing to Auburn, the Lady Bulldogs lost 7-1 and the Bulldogs lost 4-0 at home against Enterprise on March 7.
Opelika’s next games are at home against Central-Phenix City on March 13, with the girls game beginning at 5 p.m. and the boys game following.
