Jeremy Wise

The Dothan Eagle

When Andalusia Bulldog Kevin Rooks’ header found the bottom right corner of the Houston Academy goal 46 minutes into Tuesday’s area game, it provided the midfielder great relief.

“I was very excitable, but when I made contact, I knew it was in,” he said. “It was so sweet.”

It would be the only blemish for Raiders goalie Wesley Hudson, but it was the only one the Bulldogs needed to earn a 1-0 win at the Westgate Soccer Complex.

“Hiten (Patel) had an amazing corner (kick). They have an amazing keeper,” Rooks said.

Hudson had plenty of chances to prove that early and often as the Bulldogs (8-0, 3-0) controlled the ball for huge portions of the game. Hudson faced seven shots in the first half alone and made two diving saves to keep Andalusia’s Trey Ossenfort off the board a quarter of the way into the game.

“We really didn’t test him much. In the first half, we wasted a lot of chances,” Bulldogs head coach Tim Ramsden said. “In the second half, we were a little bit more aggressive.”

The Bulldogs certainly did, firing three shots at the Houston Academy (0-5, 0-3) goal within the first 5:10 of the second half.

The series of plays set up the corner kick from Patel, who drilled one into the middle of the goal box. Rooks jumped forward, letting the ball strike his head.

The move redirected the ball past Hudson and clipped the inside of the Raiders goal and rolled back.

Later in the half, the Bulldogs continued an onslaught of shots, setting up three corners and a 15-yard free kick from the 57-minute mark until the 63-minute mark.

When Houston Academy approached the Bulldogs’ goal, they could not get the ball past Andalusia goalie Christopher Smith.