By Michael Lindsay
The red-hot Livingston Academy Lady Wildcats kept their impressive 2023 soccer season rolling Thursday night as they defeated DeKalb County in District 7AA play, 9-0.
Reigning district MVP Taryn Childers led Hogeye with 3 goals, followed by junior Mallori Lindsay and freshman Saige Howard scoring 2 each.
LA controlled the contest from the jump as they scored 3 goals in the opening 8:52. Childers scored the first two at the 35:30 and 33:08 marks followed by Lindsay on a shot from outside the 18 at 31:08.
“That’s something we’ve had to improve on over the last few games; we’ve started kind of slow,” said LA head coach Heather Marshall. “Getting 3 goals in 9 minutes was exactly what we asked of them.”
Livingston would find the back of the net two more times in the first half as Howard one-touched a pass into the goal before Jazmine West finished the first half with a goal at the 13:17 mark to give the Lady Wildcats a 5-0 halftime lead.
“We were passing to feet and communicating,” Marshall said. “We knew where our people were and played as a team.”
Livingston kept their offense rolling in the second half as the Lady Wildcats scored 4 goals en route to a 9-0 mercy-rule victory. Childers scored the first goal of the half followed by Lindsay, Kaylee Prior and Howard again.
Livingston Academy pitched a shutout with some changes on the defensive end.
“We actually started a new lineup this game,” Howard said. “We did a 3-back instead of 4, and that was new for us going in. We knew there could be a couple balls that got through, but for a new formation and people back there they did great.”
Livingston Academy improves to 4-2-2 overall and 3-0 in district play with the win. All 3 district victories have come via 9-0 shutouts.
“You can’t get a big head just because you 9-0 some teams,” Marshall said. “As long as we keep the energy high, I think we’ll be ready.”
