May 8, 2012 — The Bath County Wildcats saw nothing but green as the Rowan County Middle School boys and girls soccer teams took home the district championship trophies Saturday.
The tournament began Thursday with a 4-0 win for the Lady Vikings as they took down Menifee County. Hannah Bandura led the scoring with 3 goals followed by a score from Hannah Taylor. Summar Oakley made an assist. The boys followed suit beating Menifee at the Bath County field 6-0. Larry Whalen led with 2 goals. Bryce Ratliff, Joe Newcomb, Zach Alcorn and Ethan Ratliff all took one past the goalie with assists from Devin Helvey, Bryce Ratliff and Colton Ratliff.
The final games had both teams in green facing the Wildcats who had the home field advantage. The girls started the districts final round beating Bath 7-1. Ariel Gross put 3 goals in the net followed by one apiece for Hannah Bandura, Hannah Taylor, Kennedy Scott and Honor Hare. Bandura and Taylor each made 2 assists. Scott and Gross had one assist each.
“We played exceptionally well in the tournament,” said Head Coach Randy Wallace. “Our defense was fantastic stopping balls and clearing them from the Rowan County goal.”
The RCMS boys once again followed the Lady Viking lead taking down the Bath Cats 3-0 to win their district championship. Colton Ratliff led the scoring with 2 goals. Larry Whelan put in one with assists from Devin Helvey and Joe Newcomb.
“This was a great win!” Coach Matthew Stokes said. “This was our third match-up with Bath County this year and I was a little worried. They are a very physical team.” “Coach Joe Marin really helped out, changing our formation and line-up in order to win the game.” Stokes added. “The eighth graders really wanted it and motivated the whole team.” The Lady Vikings end their season with a 19-1-1 record. “This year I have been really proud to be known as a Lady Viking,” said eighth grader Nicole Plank. “Without great playing by offense and defense we would have never been able to play and win the way we have,” she added.
Defensive player Summar Oakley agreed. “We played as a team and were able to win the tournament. Offense looked for the opportunity to score when in counted.” First year goalie Emily Moore said the experience was wonderful.
“This is one of the best teams I have ever been a part of. We came to win the district, and that’s exactly what we did!” The boys leave left the district win with a 14-1-1 record. “The competition has been very physical in our district. We have played very hard and it showed with the district win,” said Stokes.
Kim Bandura can be reached at kbandura@themoreheadnews.com or by telephone at 784-4116.
