Although it may have not counted towards their record, the Tallassee girls soccer team got some valuable in-game experience against Horseshoe Bend last Friday.
The Tigers snatched a 2-1 victory over the Generals, thanks to two early goals from Amelia Pettah in the first half. However, the Tigers were allowed to get some girls, who otherwise would see limited time, a chance to get valuable minutes.
“Our area schedule is so competitive,” Tallassee soccer coach Matt Trapley said. “It's nice to have a game like this and get some of our reserves, the girls who come and work every day at practice, and they train very hard all week, get them a chance to come out and get lots of minutes in a game like this. So it was a great opportunity.”
Even with the game being an exhibition, Tallassee provided an opportunity to help Horseshoe Bend grow the sport in the New Site area. This is the second year the Generals have even fielded a team where they have a split schedule, which consists of JV and Varsity games.
Tarpley knows Horseshoe Bend’s soccer coach Austin Teel from his time at Benjamin Russell and when he reached to construct the schedule — Trapley knew he had to help out.
“We had fun,” Trapley said. “You know, the opportunity to come and support Horseshoe Bend and their fundraising efforts, that's something we're always going to jump on. The girls game was nice, very competitive, 2-1 final, with a lot of back and forth. The girls battled hard, and it was a good game to watch.”
The Tigers will take the lessons they learned against Horseshoe Bend back into area play when they face off against St. James before the end of the season.