Lee County soccer strikes early, rolls into second round

LEESBURG — Lee County girls soccer head coach Dave Baltenberger didn’t want any part of a first-round surprise.

The Trojans, who reached the GHSA Class 6A semifinals last year, wanted to get off to a strong postseason start Tuesday against Brunswick. The quicker Lee County built a lead, the quicker the chance of an upset would dissipate.

As things turned out, it took just two minutes for Lee County to claim a lead on Brunswick. By the 22-minute mark, the Trojans led by three, well on their way to a 7-2 first-round victory.

“We set the tone, scoring in two minutes,” Baltenberger said. “We just kept the pressure on as best we could, and everybody played well.”

Up next for Lee County: a second-round home game at 5:30 p.m. next Tuesday against the Jonesboro-Greenbrier winner.

The quick start for Lee County (13-6) came when Cameron Cruz netted a feed from Carson Griffin. With that early edge, Lee County took control of the flow of play, with midfielders and the back line playing up for most of the first half and keeping Brunswick from making many deep runs while controlling the middle third of the field.

“From center back, we can control the ball,” Baltenberger said. “If we can do that in the next round, we’ll be all right.”

Lee County’s pressure produced two more goals midway through the first half, both by Hannah Schroeder.

Schroeder’s first goal came when she directed a Rebecca McDaniel throw-in off the back of her head while playing deep in the box, slipping the ball past two defenders and the goalkeeper for a 2-0 Trojans lead with 19:38 to go in the first half.

A minute and 15 seconds later, Schroeder proved just as effective from distance, netting a shot from 25 yards out.

Cruz made it 4-0 with 3:25 to go until halftime, pocketing a rebound off a Griffin shot.

Griffin scored twice in the second half, while Schroeder capped a hat trick on a 22-yarder with eight seconds left in the contest. Lee County finished with 18 shots, with keeper Abby McNany picking up eight saves.

Jalyn Morgan and Carri Sturm accounted for Brunswick’s goals, both in the second half, with Sturm scoring on a penalty kick.