Men's Soccer | 11/20/2024 9:30:00 AM

HATTIESBURG -- The Clinton High School Women's and Men's Soccer teams picked up draws in its non-district matches against Oak Grove High School on Tuesday night at Warrior Stadium.

LADY ARROWS 1, LADY WARRIORS 1

The Lady Arrows (4-1-1) scored almost instantaneously in its game, but Oak Grove's second-half goal kept the game level at 1-1. It was Clinton's first tie of the 2024-25 season.

Ja'Milah Williams dribbled past defenders on the right wing and slipped the ball behind the last Oak Grove defender, finding Kayla Jones, who put the ball into the back of the net. That goal put Clinton ahead 1-0 with only 50 seconds off the clock. The Lady Arrows would maintain their advantage as Ellyn Burchfield -- as she did in the second 40 minutes, too -- made numerous saves and pitched a first-half shutout.

The Lady Warriors tied the game in the 43rd minute off their corner kick. Oak Grove served the ball into Clinton's front post, the ball ricocheted off a Lady Arrow defender, and into the side netting.

"Tonight was a really good night for us to see some top competition and be involved in a dogfight," Clinton Head Women's Soccer Coach Elliot Rimmer said. "We came out with our foot on the gas and scored early. Then it was a transition battle. We got a lot of good minutes from some young players that haven't seen anything that before with the pace of play and intensity of the 1-versus-1 duels. Those minutes will be invaluable to us going forward.

"All eyes on Lewisburg (on Friday) and Lafayette (on Saturday) now," Rimmer added. "I hope to finish this really tough week with two more good results."

ARROWS 0, WARRIORS 0

Clinton bombarded the Oak Grove defense but was unable to cash in any attacking opportunities as their non-district game ended in a scoreless tie.

The Warriors were highly organized and made any opportunities difficult for the Arrows. For the majority of the second half, Clinton pelted the home team's 18-yard box with long throw-ins, corners, and free kicks, but were never able to get anything past the Oak Grove goal line.

The Arrows' back line of Bradley Wells, Brayden Bridges, and Ryan Carite, along with the efforts of goalkeeper Jesus Estrada maintained the clean sheet for all 80 minutes. 

UP NEXT
 
The Clinton Women's and Men's Soccer teams travel to Lewisburg High School on Friday. The Lady Arrows play the Lady Patriots at 4 p.m., and the Arrows take on the Patriots at 6 p.m.

The Lady Arrows play an additional non-district game on Saturday at Arrow Field when they square off against the Lafayette Lady Commodores at 12 p.m.