Bath County beats George Wythe in soccer

Bath County Stuns George Wythe in Region C Quarterfinal

The George Wythe varsity boys’ soccer team’s regional ambitions were derailed by the Bath County Chargers this past Tuesday night at Pendleton Field. The Chargers defeated the Maroons 5-3.
Bath County advanced to the Region C semifinals on Thursday and was defeated 3-1 by Radford.
Both teams came out Tuesday night playing physical and energetic throughout the entire first half but neither went into the scorebook until GW senior Cody Burgess rifled in a shot after calmly receiving a pass from freshman Kyle Semones.
This was the spark needed for the GW offense in the first half as less than a minute after scoring their first goal, the Maroons scored again.  This time Semones provided the ball to senior Andrew Meade, who had originally initiated the play and then coolly finished it as he smashed a shot past the sprawling Bath County keeper.  The goal was Meade’s 12th of the season.
However, the first half wasn’t entirely one-sided as Bath County pulled a goal back just before the halftime whistle.
After the half, the Chargers struck again to draw level only moments after an apparent GW goal was disallowed for offsides.  This became a foreshadowing of things to come as the match continued.
With the score tied, GW was awarded a penalty but Bath County’s keeper made a diving save to deny sophomore Brandon Atwell’s well-placed attempt.  This momentous save fueled the Chargers as they would spring to life and score three more goals against a beleaguered GW back line.
GW would yet again have another goal scored but ultimately refused when the play was called back.
With little time left, GW scored what would be its final goal of the season as Cody Burgess earned a penalty and then confidently scored it, bringing GW to three for the night.
While the Maroons fought hard, the final whistle blew with them behind Bath County 5-3, ending their season in the regional quarterfinals.  This defeat was only the second home loss for the Maroons.
After the match, GW Head Coach James Stitt said, “It was a really tough match and Bath County played well. It’s always hard to lose but it’s even harder for the guys to lose in regions.  We played great and passed great. I’m extremely proud of every single GW player. We just couldn’t get it all to click perfectly tonight.  Overall, we still had an amazing season.”
George Wythe’s overall record for 2008 is 10-5; the Maroons scored 72 goals and only allowed 29 against and were never shut-out by their opposition, scoring at least one goal in every game.