Ladies battle Towns, Buford
By JARED PUTNAM Union Sentinel Editor

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam The goal kick is on the way.

The Lady Panthers fell to the Buford Lady Wolves 4-0, the team that Lady Panthers Head Coach Tim Hunter described as "hands down the best in the region.

"They have a tremendously talented program. They're ranked fifth [in the state] on one poll, sixth on another, and they are for real," the coach said.

Coach Hunter said that the game should have been more like 3-1, but the team had a couple of breakaways that just hit the post and slid out. "We had some opportunities to score," the coach said. Union trailed 2-0 at halftime, and was a little worn down in the second half.

The coach said that despite the loss, his team played well. "It was one of the first times I have been extremely proud of my team in a loss, just because they played hard the whole time, they played well the whole time, they were just a little overmatched," Coach Hunter said. "We played them closer than anyone has in the region.

"I can't just say [one person] played well. It was top to bottom, every kid we put on the field played as hard as they possibly could. Marianne Smith did a great job in there as keeper. She actually broke her finger in the first half, but stayed in."

Coach Hunter said that the entire defense played really well. "Jenna Sarrell had a great game for us. Bonnie Ann Sarrell and Jordan West played well. Jessie Payne did a great job up front for us. Mehgan Stepp played really well. I could name everybody on the team," the coach said.

JV: Union 1 - Towns 2

"The girls were playing scared, and kind of sloppy, and as a result were down 2-0 [at halftime]," Coach Hunter said. In the second half the team stepped it up, getting across the field quickly, making passes, and ended up winning the half 1-0, but Towns held on for a 2-1 win.

"It was a good lesson for our kids on playing hard and executing," the coach said. Kaley Sullivan scored the Lady Panthers goal. "It's her first year playing. I've been playing her every second trying to learn her the game. She's going to be someone that is really going to help us next year."