STARKVILLE — Heritage girls’ soccer got one back in their local rivalry matchup with Starkville Academy on Monday, winning 1-0 on the road in the team’s first win of the season.
The Patriots sealed the win at the very end in style, with senior Caroline Peal scoring on a rocket of a free kick. The strike was from the edge of the box, going up and over a wall of Vols defenders before dipping just under the crossbar.
“I was just thinking that I have to make it because the whole team is working so hard,” Peal said, reflecting on the goal. “I was thinking what my coaches had been telling me, how to strike it right.”
Peal said the positioning of the goalkeeper and the obstructed view of the wall influenced her decision to go for it, but it was still no easy feat. The shot arrived near the keeper but was struck with such power that she barely had any time to react once it curved over the wall.
“Caroline can strike a ball,” Patriots head coach Jacob Hunt said of the goal. “She has a true shot and that’s why I wanted her to take it. I knew it was going to be a solid strike. We have multiple girls who can do it, but it worked out and we know that those shots are hard to get to.”
The match was fairly balanced following the Vols’ 3-2 win at Heritage last week. The Patriots struggled to maintain possession in that loss but brought a different energy from the start on Monday, controlling the game for most of the first half and creating several chances.
“The loss could have gone two ways,” Hunt said of the game a week prior. “It could have been detrimental or lit a fire under them. I think the SA game always brings out the best, sometimes the worst, but they used it as fuel. They didn’t want to lose again, they went two years without losing to them before, I think this is five out of six wins.”
This was the first loss of the season for Boston Hampton’s Vols team, which started the regular season hot with four straight wins. This is the first time since the preseason that they were shut out, though it wasn’t for a lack of effort. Forward Summer Evans saw two good chances saved and Elizabeth Fair saw a late attempt from distance strike the crossbar.
“Both teams played hard,” Hampton said. “It was hot and they both felt it, and they finished. It happens. In the first half, they had the momentum. Second half, we had it for the majority of the time and couldn’t sneak one in. Good soccer and I think we need more of that, less games where it’s not competitive.”
It was a solid start to district play for both teams, who now look ahead as the schedule heats up. The Patriots host Bayou Academy on Sept. 3, the same team the Vols will travel to face in their next game on Thursday.
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