The Lady Pounders soccer season is upon us. Head Coach John Brittingham is back for his second season and with a roster with more depth than previous seasons, expectations are high.

This year’s roster is comprised of 13 players, but two players were inactive due COVID-19 quarantine. This forced the squad to play without subs the entire night. The quarantine put the Lady Pounders in a tight spot for the first game of the season, but eventually the inconvenience will help the team gain strength and stamina for the remainder of the season.

“I am encouraged by the teams progress as a team from last year into this year,” Coach Brittingham shared.

Monday, August 23, the Lady Pounders faced off against the Red Bank Lady Lions in the season opener. Unfortunately, Central took a loss by a score of 5 to 2. Though the loss was a tough pill to swallow, Melina Barros’ pair of goals is something the Central team can hang their hat on. Another positive was that the entire game was back and forth. This shows the character of this year’s team but in the end, the lack of subs prevailed when Red Bank score three times in the final ten minutes.

“The game was tough but the team pulled together and I was able to score,” Barros explained.

On Tuesday, August 24, Central suffered another loss against Sequatchie County. Senior Janetth Colunga scored three goals and junior Melina Barros scored one, but the final score was 5-4. The girls played much better in this game and even held the lead for a significant amount of time. Finishing out the game was a hurdle once again as Sequatchie County cam back and erased the defecit and went home with a win.

According to Brittingham this game was “definitely one we let get away.”

The third game of the week was on Thursday, August 26 when the team took on East Hamilton. The Lady Pounders only played ten minutes before they entered a game ending lightning delay. The game will be replayed at home on Monday, September 20, at 5:00 p.m.

“I look forward to seeing how far the team can progress this season as they gain more experience playing with one another,” Brittingham stated.

There was only one game the week of September 6, and that was on Tuesday, September 7. This game was a real tough loss with the ending score being 9-0 against McMinn Central. There is not much of a recap for this game.