On Tuesday, April 19, 2016, the Deerfield-Windsor Lady Knights soccer team went into battle with the Lady Generals for the Region 3-AAA crown. Both teams entered the contest undefeated in region play, so an intense matchup was expected. In the end, however, the Lady Knights were simply too much for their opponent, and a 6-0 blowout resulted in Deerfield-Windsor taking home this year’s region title.
The Lady Knights were excited for their title, and deservedly so; however, there was even more reason to celebrate due to the special accomplishment of one particular team member. Going into the evening’s game, junior striker Parker Belle Morgan was a mere four goals shy of setting a new career scoring record at Deerfield-Windsor. By the end of the night, she scored five.
“I didn’t even know about it until the week before,” Morgan said. “The news came and interviewed me, and that’s when it really sunk in.”
At the conclusion of the decisive region bout with the Lady Generals, Morgan’s total stood at 118 goals for her career. While she and her teammates knew that history was being made that night, she still kept her decorum and refused to let poor sportsmanship take over.
“We all celebrated after the game,” she said. “But while the game was going, none of us got overly excited about it. The game was a blowout, and we didn’t want to seem like poor sports by adding to the celebration in from of the other team. It didn’t seem right.”
By season’s end, Morgan’s scoring total stood at an astonishing 125 goals, and with another year of competition remaining, that number is only going to increase. Not only was Morgan outstanding in her own right, but her leadership and natural ability helped the Lady Knights end the year on a 10-game win streak that took them to the GISA Class AAA State Championship.
Unfortunately, their year came to an end in a 4-1 loss to the state-champion Augusta Preparatory Day School. Coincidentally, each of the Lady Knights’ last three playoff runs have been ended by the Lady Cavaliers, who have now won the last three Class AAA titles.
“We were extremely dedicated this year, but in the end, they wanted it more,” Morgan said. “They’re the measuring stick; if we want a state title next year, it’s going to go through them. And I think that our team is going to be ready to face them again.”
The mindset is similar in all of her teammates. Morgan says that her team is like a family; seven of her teammates will be graduating with her next year, and four of her teammates also play with her year-round with their travel team. Also playing an integral role in the team’s success is the coaching staff, led by head coach Alastair “Aly” Joslin.
“Coach Joslin has been so important for us; he’s just as big a part of the team’s growth as we are,” Morgan said. “Next year is going to be pretty tough; there will be quite a few of us graduating after next season. It would be really nice to win a championship for the school before we go.”
South Georgia / June 2016
Parker Belle Morgan
Deerfield-Windsor School
Albany, Ga.
Lady Knights Takes Her Place in School History
By James Washington
