TIFTON —
Melissa Johnson and Francesca Caravello each scored four goals and the ABAC Fillies rolled to an easy victory over Gordon College, 11-1, Tuesday afternoon.
The game was scoreless until the 13th minute when Caravello took advantage of a 2-1 break and put the ball in the back of the net. Two minutes later Johnson shook two defenders, who both ended up on the ground, and scored the first of her three first half goals. Caravello also had three goals in the half.
ABAC won the game partly due to better skill, but it was also very apparent that the Fillies had a large advantage in fitness as well. Through the first ten minutes the teams appeared to be fairly equal, but once Gordon got tired it was all ABAC, as the Fillies put eight balls in the goal before the end of the first half.
“These ladies work very hard and they have earned today’s victory, as well as the 3-0 start we are off to. They have really put a lot of effort into this and it’s paying off,” said head coach Jimmy Ballenger of his team.
Every healthy player on ABAC’s roster was able to see playing time in the blow out, which is good for the younger players and walk-ons in case they are needed later in the season.
Other Fillies scoring goals were Demi Greenan, Allison Fernandez and Brittany Koehmstedt. Greenan added two assists, while Koehmstedt, Krista Whitley, Hannah Hoffman and Amanda Carver all added one assist.
The defense of ABAC was also dominant in the game, allowing only one goal on eight shots. The Fillies had 21 shots on the day.
“Obviously we are very happy with the performance, but we do have a couple things to work on. We could always use better first touches, that is important in set ting up what you are going to do and how much time you will have to do it. We also need to work on staying onsides, we had four or five offsides called on us,” said Balenger about what the team could improve on.
The Fillies had a large cheering section that was into the game the entire way with chants and cheers whenever the Fillies made big plays. Ballenger couldn’t say enough about what community support does for the team and the atmosphere of the games.
“I tell you, the community support around here has always been great, and we love to see students and community members out here cheering on our girls. That makes a difference for the girls whether the crowd knows it or not,” Ballenger said about the support.
Next Tuesday the Fillies play at South Georgia College in Douglas. Next Thursday the students are organizing a “green out,” so everyone attending should try to wear green to support the Fillies, who are off to a 3-0 start and are 1-0 in conference play. That game will begin at 4:00 p.m. against Andrew College.
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