Union topples Titans
Team splits latest games, now 5-1 in region
By JARED PUTNAM Union Sentinel Editor

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Cason Carter reacts to scoring on the Titans.

The Panthers picked up their fifth Region win of the season over the North Oconee Titans Saturday, but saw their perfect region record spoiled by the Dawson Tigers two days later.

Union 2 - North Oconee 1

The Panthers took an early 2-0 lead on the Titans after Michael Myrick scored on a breakaway and Cason Carter put one in from outside the 18 on a one touch shot. That lead held through halftime, but the game became much tighter in the second half as the Panthers seemed to run out of gas.

"We've been plagued with injury all year long so we started running out of steam and had to play a more defensive game," Head Coach Chris Robbins said. North Oconee scored early in the second half to trim the Panthers lead to a single goal. "They came out and scored in the first five minutes," the coach said. "We started trying to force the attack but couldn't get it done. We had some good opportunities but couldn't get another goal."

The team shifted into a defensive mode the last 15 minutes of the game, but held on for the 2-1 victory, extending their unbeaten region record to 5-0. "We were out of steam and had two more starters knocked out of that game," Coach Robbins said. "I wouldn't say it was our best performance but we showed the ability that we could have a lead and hold on to it."

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Michael Myrick goes flying over the North Oconee goal keeper. Myrick scored the Panthers first goal.

Union 1 - Dawson 3

The Panthers winning streak came to an end against Dawson County, in a game that Coach Robbins described as "very mentally frustrating."

Dawson appeared to take control of the contest only min- utes into play. "I started noticing after the first seven minutes that Dawson started possessing the ball," Coach Robbins said. "We had a total of three shots in the first half. We were playing a really defensive game. It's kind of like someone in the corner waiting to get beaten up."

The two teams were even at the end of the first half, but Dawson broke through early in the second half. The Tigers built a 2-0 lead until Luke Parker cut the deficit in half with a goal on a corner kick. "For a second I thought that was the spark," Coach Robbins said, "but they scored again in the next three minutes.

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Cason Carter battles a North Oconee Titan for the ball.

"This was definitely the worst game I've seen our team play," Coach Robbins said. "I'm extremely disappointed. It's not like I felt Dawson was out of our reach. If we had played them like we have been playing we could have beaten them. They're a good team but we've been finding a way to win with subs lately, bringing it together and showing a lot of heart and a lot of teamwork. [But in this game] we didn't play as a team and no one stepped up and led the team."

The coach said that while injuries and distractions factored in, the team has to get refocused in order to survive a schedule that pitts them against some very tough teams the rest of the season. "This is a team that could go a ways, but none of [our remaining opponents] are slouches," Coach Robbins said.