Lambert Girls Soccer Gets Their Revenge
2019 was the year for Lambert girls soccer; there was no doubt about it. The Lady Longhorns dominated the pitch, going 18-0 in the regular season and outscoring opponents by an other-worldly margin of 87 to 3. They were easily considered one of the best, if not the best girls soccer team in the nation. As expected, the Lady Longhorns cruised through the opening rounds of the state playoffs, defeating South Gwinnett 10-0, Peachtree 4-0, and Hillgrove 3-0. In the semifinals, they merely shrugged off a 14-4-2 Brookwood squad with a 3-0 shutout victory. Just one more win would clinch a well-deserved state championship and a perfect 23-0 record.
Enter North Gwinnett: a 17-3 squad who needed overtime to beat Parkview in the semifinals. The Bulldogs were certainly not a bad team, but lacked the firepower that Lambert presented. These teams had actually met earlier in the season, with the Lady Longhorns easily winning 3-1. With Lambert on pace to shatter records, defeating North Gwinnett once again would not be too much of a challenge.
Surprisingly, North Gwinnett kept the game close. The first half ended in a 0-0 tie, but momentum began to shift towards the Lady Longhorns in the second period. With 2:24 left in the match, a stunning crosser met the foot of Faith Ferrer, who calmly tapped it into the back of the net, giving Lambert a 1-0 lead. However, just under 30 seconds later, a brilliant header by North Gwinnett’s Aliah Kitchens made it just over the keeper’s head, knotting the game up at one. After the passage of regulation and an extra overtime period, it all came down to the penalty kicks. With North Gwinnett leading 5-4, Faith Ferrer returned to attempt to tie the game. She missed, giving North Gwinnett the upset win of a lifetime. Lambert’s hopes of a perfect season were flushed away in devastating fashion, just a couple penalty kicks away from history.
Fast-forward two years to 2021 and Lambert is back in position to reclaim its “stolen” title. The 2020 campaign (with a record of 9-1) ended at the hands of the coronavirus, but the Lady Longhorns haven’t missed a step since. They are currently 13-0-2, one of only two undefeated teams in 7A. They have only allowed six goals all year, and this defense strikingly resembles that of the 2019 season. Lambert will once again be the favorite in 7A with no major opponent standing in their way except 11-0 Mill Creek. Several of these players started on the team that North Gwinnett shocked in 2019. They remember. They know. Lambert is back for revenge, and this time they will leave nothing to chance.
Written by: Dhruv Mohan
