Walton "Stayed Composed" In Win Over West Forsyth, Advances To GHSA 7A Second Round
On Tuesday, the Georgia High School Association soccer state championship tournaments got underway with action in the girls brackets and in Class 7A, the Walton Raiders hosted the West Forsyth Wolverines. In the first half, the Wolverines came out aggressive and managed to apply a good amount of pressure on the Raiders defense, however the backline of Walton and with keeper, Elora Niederpruem in goal, the Raiders would fend off the West Forsyth attacks.
As the half continued, Walton would eventually be the first team to score after taking possession and a cross from Emma Graham would lead perfectly to Katie Jamison, who would finish with the first goal of the match as her shot would sail past Abby Cragin, who came out from goal for the attempted save. The Raiders would take their 1-0 lead into halftime and in the second have would turn momentum in their favor as they became the more aggressive team, picking up two more goals as a corner kick by Jamison would be ruled an own goal, which put the Raiders up 2-0.
Then later, Walton would pick up their third goal as Graham assisted for the second time of the night on a Molly Chapman score, putting Walton up 3-0, which be the eventual final score. “It was actually a testament to our depth,” Walton head coach, Jason Page said of the performance by the Raiders’ backline, especially with the loss of usual starters. “Our normal left back was out, we had a central defender go down, so we kind of had to move some things around,” Page said of the Raiders’ adjustments.
Page would also credit his players for not letting the pressure that West Forsyth applied early in the match affect their game plan. “They stayed composed, they stayed connected. The communication along the backline was really good and they held fast,” Page said of Walton’s response to the attacks by West Forsyth. With the win and advancement, Walton now prepare for the winner of Buford and Meadowcreek and Page says that the Raiders will need to “play a little cleaner in the midfield” and he would like to see his players get the ball “off our feet a little bit quicker,”.
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