The Andalusia Bulldogs’ soccer team fell 3-1 to Providence Christian Thursday night in Dothan.

 

“I was very happy with how we played,” Andalusia head  soccer coach Tim Ramsden said. “We need to be more physical, but overall we played well.”

 

Ramsden said the Bulldogs fell behind in the first half on a very good goal from Providence.

 

Shelbee Matthews had the Bulldogs’ only goal of the contest. It was Matthews’s second goal of the season.

 

“Kiki (Wain) made a nice pass to Shelbee and she came through with a very strong goal,” Ramsden said. “It was a great kick, and I was very proud of her.”

 

The rest of the Providence goals came on sloppy defense from the Bulldogs, Ramsden said.

 

“We played well enough to win,” Ramsden said. “Our play in the second half was considerably better than the first half. We gave up one goal on poor sloppy defense, and the last one was worse than that. In general, I was happy with the way we played.”

 

Ramsden made special mention of the play of one of his athletes.

 

“Pound-for-pound, Anna Brady is the best player we have out there,” Ramsden said. “She is always getting after the ball, and holding her own with much bigger male opponents. She was a highlight for us.”

 

The Bulldogs have shown improvement over the last few games, Ramsden said.

 

“We switched to a 4-3-3 recently and that has helped us keep some pressure off the defense,” Ramsden said. “We will probably continue to use this, because we have been playing better since installing it.”

 

The Bulldogs do have certain areas that need to be worked on, Ramsden said.

 

“We have to do a better job of tackling,” Ramsden said. “We have to learn how to go through the ball when tackling. Also, we have to do a better job of running after the ball. It is like when someone doesn’t have the ball they think there isn’t a job they need to be doing. We have to get better at running after the ball, and following the play.”

 

Ramsden said the Bulldogs have what it takes to win these games, but “small” things are keeping them back.

 

“I’m proud of the way we have been playing,” Ramsden said. “But small mistakes are costing us big in these games. We aren’t the fastest or the biggest team, so we have to play smart. We will get that ironed out.”

 

The Bulldogs begin area play on Tuesday when they travel to Satsuma.