By Michael Lindsay
The Livingston Academy Wildcats picked up a non-district soccer victory Tuesday evening as they defeated the Macon County Tigers, 2-1.
“It was a good game,” said Livingston Academy head coach David Sadler. “We’ve been practicing pretty hard on some of our sets, and the boys ran them really well tonight. Macon County isn’t in our district, but they always play us tough and keep us fresh.”
The Wildcats got on the board quickly as Chris Cahill finished a header off a corner kick by Bryson Mann for a goal with 33:46 remaining in the first half to give Livingston a 1-0 lead.
“We’ve been working on that set,” Sadler said. “He’s got a big head and likes to use it.”
Livingston shut out Macon County in the first half to hold a 1-0 advantage at the break.
Macon County got on the board with 32:21 remaining in the second half as Jairo Vincente-Sontay scored on a breakaway to tie the game at one goal each.
“Whenever they take responsibility and know the goal was on us, that makes a whole lot of difference,” Sadler said. “They didn’t get rattled. Our players knew we made a mistake and they fixed it. They didn’t hesitate and turned right back around to put one on the board.”
Livingston Academy responded 14 minutes later as Dylan Hollman broke the tie with a shot from outside the 18 that found the back of the net to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead with 18:25 left.
“That was a good run by Dylan,” Sadler said. “He was playing the attacking mid, and the ball got loose. We swung it outside and shot it back into him. He had a good foot on it and put it in the upper left corner.”
Hollman’s goal would be the difference as Livingston Academy shut out Macon County for the final 18:25 to win by a 2-1 final score.
Up next for Livingston is a home game Thursday against a key District 6-2A opponent.
“We’ve got Cumberland County Thursday night,” Sadler said. “That’s always a big game for us. They’re in our district, and it will be an exciting game.”
