After a cross into the six-yard box, right wing Reagan Fitzgerald fought for a header against Lake Brantley defender Katharine Sands, ending up grazing the bottom of the post and missing the point.

In a nonconference matchup on Tuesday, Dec. 11, the girls soccer team lost to Lake Brantley 3-0. When the match began, the team came out aggressive, playing an even game. Within the first five minutes, forward Madison Sophia suffered an injury to her hamstring which changed the team’s style of play.

With the team’s left wing out for the match, coach Angie Densberger was forced to put in substitutes, fitting players into new positions. The result: a Lake Brantley goal by midfielder Kristina Arwady in the first quarter. After the ball shot outside the 18-yard box, it deflected off defender Charlie LaMotta. The goal put the team down to a 1-0 setback.

Later in the first quarter, midfielder Addison Smith served the ball into the box off a corner kick.

“The [corner kick] scraped the top of my head to skim the post,” Fitzgerald said. “It was a missed chance to tie up the game.”

During the second half, the team struggled to find the back of the net. At the end of the second quarter, Lake Brantley generated an opportunity to score by splitting the defense. They had a one-on-one opportunity, scoring a goal to make it 2-0. Seconds after, Lake Brantley played an over-the-top ball to form another one-on-one chance to score, with goalkeeper Olivia Caruso tipping the ball away. However, striker Madison Jones followed through to put the ball in the back of the net, finishing the match off for a 3-0 loss.

The team fell to 1-4-2 record for the season. They would play their next match away against Apopka on Thursday, Dec. 12.

“The mentality definitely changed when Madison got injured and our intensity dropped in the second half, but we didn’t back down and played an assertive game,” midfielder Alexis Madlang said.