Bulldog soccer starts season stron

Published 12:00 am Thursday, March 3, 2016

Wain Yungkuma works the ball down the pitch.

Wain Yungkuma works the ball down the pitch.

The Andalusia Bulldogs’ soccer team has gotten off to a roaring 7-1-1 start to the 2016 AHSAA soccer season.

“I’ve been very happy with the season so far,” Bulldogs’ head coach Tim Ramsden said. “We were a little unsure of some things coming into the season, but the kids have really progressed quickly.”

Before Tuesday night, the Bulldogs hadn’t lost in the 2016 season, but Andalusia was unable to top Carroll as they fell 2-0.

“It could have been a lot worse against Carroll, but our eighth grade goalkeeper, Franklin Osorio, made some amazing plays that kept it from getting out of hand,” Ramsden said. “Franklin has really come a long way in short period of time and he will continue to improve as a goalkeeper,”

Andalusia’s seven wins to open up the season haven’t come against easy opponents.

“We’ve beaten some very good teams so far this season,” Ramsden said. “We’ve beaten Charles Henderson, Eufaula, Carroll and Enterprise. We opened up really strong, but the last few games we’ve kind of gotten a little cocky. On Tuesday night against Carroll, we let them play physical and we just didn’t play physical with them. I thought we played well defensively, but we just weren’t able to create many opportunities for goals.”

Ramsden said that the team has looked good so far, but they still have work to do.

“A lot of people are scoring, and that’s very exciting for our team,” Ramsden said. “There is still work to be done, but I’m very proud of the way they have started the season. This is our best start to a season since 2013. Overall, I’m very happy with the direction the team is heading.”

The Bulldogs will be back in action on Thursday when they host Providence Christian at 6 p.m., at Andalusia Municipal Stadium.

After hosting Providence Christian, the Bulldogs will hit the road to take on Houston Academy and then Providence Christian.

The Bulldogs will then return home on March 17 when they face Satsuma in the first area match of the year.