Tiger soccer teams dominate in season openers
By Russ Gordon
For the Enquirer
The Hartselle High School varsity soccer teams opened their respective seasons with performances against Lee High School Feb. 6.
Lady Tigers showcase strength, depth
Hartselle 11, Lee 1
Despite losing 10 players from last year’s roster, the Hartselle Lady Tigers demonstrated their resilience and talent by defeating Lee High School with a score of 11-1. The young team showed great potential on the pitch, starting strong with Addison Button scoring a goal within the first minute of play. Katelyn Dolbeer and Lily Culpepper quickly followed with goals, helping to secure a dominant lead.
Playing 40-minute halves, Hartselle held a 7-0 lead halfway through the period. Their lead extended to 9-0 before Lee scored their only goal of the game. The halftime score stood at 9-1. In the second half, Dolbeer and Button each scored again, ending the game by mercy rule with a 10-point advantage, 11-1. Dolbeer and Emma Barran both celebrated hat tricks, while Button had a brace. Culpepper, Cara Beth Nelson and Adelynn Mitchell each added a goal to round out the scoring.
Girls deliver first road win
Hartselle JV girls 10, Elkmont 0
On Feb. 10, the girl’s junior varsity and varsity teams defeated Elkmont convincingly with back-to-back mercy rule games. The JV team scored six goals in the first half and added four more in the second half to win 10-0. The team showed great balance in their offense with seven girls scoring goals. Kate Cooper delivered a hat trick, Laelia Speering had a brace and five team members added one goal each: Jewel Jones, Lucy Crow, Claudia Burroughs, Lila Crouch and Kate Bennich. Goalkeeper Reese Griffith had the clean sheet.
Hartselle Varsity 10, Elkmont 0
The Lady Tigers shut out Elkmont with stellar play from Emma Barran who scored five goals. Cara Beth Nelson scored three and Katelyn Dolbeer and Lily Culpepper each scored one goal. In soccer jargon scoring three goals is called a hat trick and five is a glut. Asked about her rare glut after the game, Barran said, “It was a very good night and hard work pays off.”
Tigers deliver commanding victory over Lee
Hartselle 11, Lee 0
The boys’ varsity team faced the challenge of replacing 11 seniors from last year’s squad. This season, the team has six seniors, with three of them starting, and the rest of the team is made up of juniors and sophomores. Despite the younger lineup, Hartselle made a powerful statement with their performance.
Luke Vinson set the tone by scoring the first goal within one minute and 12 seconds of the game, followed by three more goals for a haul. Dakota Lawrence scored twice, while Elliott Barnes, Warren Peyton, Rhett Spivey, Brett Hatfield and Nate Saunders each contributed one goal. The game ended at halftime with an overwhelming 11-0 score, as per the rules, which state that the game cannot end before the first half is completed. Goalkeeper John Vinson recorded his first clean sheet of the season.
Challenges on the road
Hartselle JV 0, Florence 6
The following day, the boys JV and varsity teams traveled to Florence to face the Falcons. Both games ended in losses for the Tigers. In the JV match, Florence dominated and led 4-0 at halftime, ultimately securing the victory. The Falcons added two more goals in the second half.
Hartselle 0, Florence 3
The varsity boys squared off against a 7A Falcon team that finished fourth place in the state championships last year and lost only three seniors to graduation. The Tigers only had one shot on goal in the game and were on offense for approximately 15-20 percent of the game. The defense, however, put up a stiff resistance to the Falcon assault, allowing only one score in the first half. Florence added two more goals in the second half, their final score coming with only one and a half minutes left in the game. Vinson had at least 13 saves in the game, which accounts for the low scoring production of the Falcons.
