Georgia Storm Defeats LSA Athletico Lanier 2-0
By Georgia Storm
Georgia Storm hosted LSA Athletico on Saturday, May 15 at 7:00 pm at Bremen High School Stadium. Georgia Storm kicked off the proceedings, but LSA Athletico started the match very brightly. Playing very direct, LSA was both efficient and energetic in the early parts of the game with left winger Khalil Bell causing Storm’s right back some difficulty.
In the opening five minutes, LSA caused some confusion at the back for Storm leading to a chance for the LSA right winger but Storm’s Fabian Pekruhl made a smart save from close range before collapsing on the rebound. Fifteen minutes into the match Storm earned a free kick on the left hand side where Andrew Carleton stood over the ball. As he whipped the dead ball in, Stephen Bivens got on the end of it to put them in the lead, or so they thought The referee and assistant referee deemed the play offside so play resumed at 0-0.
Minutes later Hunter Jumper drove a diagonal ball to Wilfried Kamdem Tchoupa who got in behind but just missed the far post on strike. This was followed quickly by a Storm giveaway in midfield that Jacob Bivens made a vital block to dent the 2v1. With 30 minutes gone, Storm earned another free kick that Carleton whipped in. Several Storm players challenged, but LSA knocked the ball into their own goal from a header. Right before halftime, a giveaway from LSA led to Stephen Bivens squaring the ball to Carleton who barely missed from 12 yards.
As the half drew to a close, LSA kept up the pressure but the match went into halftime with Storm leading 1-0 from the unfortunate own goal. In the first half, the referee has had to book several players for a few bad tackles.
After both teams made some adjustments at halftime, the second half began with Storm on the front foot as they sought to put the score beyond LSA. Ten minutes into the second half, a good piece of play sent Tchoupa through again where he chose to shoot from a tight angle and missed. As the half continued, LSA played themselves into the match with several chances on headers from set plays but they couldn’t put one past Pekruhl. In the 75th minute, Storm earned another free kick on the right hand side, which Carleton delivered. He whipped a right-footed cross to the far post where Stephen Bivens rose and nodded the ball down the far post into the corner to give Storms 2-0 lead.
Storm had several opportunities through good combination play from Kevin Barajas to Carleton ending in a cross to Faraz Gorgi who just missed wide. In the closing moments, LSA had several shots from distance that were either blocked or comfortably saved by Pekruhl. Storm Head Coach Josh Bivens made a flurry of substitutions in the final five minutes as they held on comfortably to win 2-0 to win their first match in the club’s history.
Photo Credit: Matt Laczko
