Effort rewarded: Lady Raiders earn draw in final game of weekend tournament

Published 12:03 am Sunday, March 17, 2019

It could have been easy for the Southeast Whitfield High School girls soccer team to give up on Saturday night.

The Lady Raiders lost their first two games of the Southeast Shootout tournament by a combined score of 18-4 and found themselves trailing Adairsville 1-0 at halftime of their third and final game of the weekend.

Despite the adversity, Southeast continued to fight.

“I really was pleased with the amount of effort we put forth,” Southeast coach Todd Close said. “We took a tough loss on Friday night, so I was afraid when we didn’t get the outcome we wanted on Saturday morning that we wouldn’t even bother showing up tonight. But we just kept fighting and putting forth effort, so I was pleased with that.”

The effort was rewarded with a result, as the Lady Raiders played Adairsville to a 1-1 draw on their home field. Southeast (3-5-3, 0-1 in Region 6-4A) used its offside trap to effectively draw nine offside penalties against Adairsville, and in the second half their own goal scoring chances began to appear.

Brianna Hurtado, Itzell Rodriguez and Lupita Martinez pressured the backline of Adairsville throughout the second half, and with less than 20 minutes remaining the breakthrough finally came. Following a penalty along the ride sideline, Hurtado placed a ball into the box and Martinez found the end of the cross with her head, placing the ball to the left side of the goalkeeper.

The sophomore midfielder said she wasn’t expecting the ball to get to her, but she was ready when it did.

“I scored a goal like that last year in the first round of the state playoffs,” Martinez said. “It’s been tough this year, but we just need to keep playing at 100 percent and I think we’ll continue to improve.”

After ending last season with a record of 12-6-1 and a state playoff appearance, the Lady Raiders entered the 2019 season needing to replace a number of starters including its top two goal scorers Ester Paniagua and Bryannie Camacho. As a freshman, Martinez scored seven goals which was good for third on the team. Martinez scored twice in Southeast’s loss earlier in the day to Fort Payne, and after Saturday night’s header, Martinez’s season total of nine goals leads the team.

The sophomore standout also plays for The Belles, the girls affiliate program of the Northwest Soccer Academy. She credits her time with the club as playing a significant role in her improvement and said she hopes her hard work will continue to translate to high school success. Having to step into a leadership role isn’t something that comes naturally to the soft-spoken Martinez, but her play on the field speaks loud and clear.

“She’s not very vocal, she’s working on that, but she’s a good player,” Close said. “She’s got some upperclassmen that are trying to mentor her in that leadership position, but we’re still a young team.”

Southeast will play at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Pickens.

Fort Payne (Alabama) 8, Southeast 4

Southeast scored three second-half goals but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Raiders fell to Fort Payne on Saturday morning in their second game of the Raider Shootout tournament.

Lupita Martinez scored two goals, while Erandy Reyes and Brianna Hurtado each added a goal apiece. Hurtado added an assist and goalkeeper Michelle Hernandez tallied 15 saves.