Clinton seals gold medal with one goal
By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
June 21, 2004
One goal was all Clinton needed on Sunday.
Rowdy Lane scored midway through the first half and also spent time in goal as Clinton shut out Madison 1-0 to clinch the gold medal in the boys' under-16 soccer tournament at the State Games of Mississippi.
The under-16 boys' and girls' tournament medalist were deciding in pool play and did not have medal games.
After dominating the first half, Clinton spent much of the second half defending its slim lead from Madison's offense, which had several opportunities to tie the game.
Madison's best and last chance came in the final five minutes of the game on a foul just inside Clinton's box. A penalty kick was awarded to Madison, but the shot bounced off the left goal post.
The victory completed a 3-0 run through the State Games for Clinton, which celebrated the win by dousing Adcock with a cooler of ice water.
Madison finished the tournament 1-2 and took the bronze medal.
Austin Pierce also shared goalie duties for Clinton in the shutout.
Northwest Rankin 4
Hattiesburg 0
Jarrod Bell scored two goals in the first half as Northwest Rankin beat Hattiesburg 4-0 and clinched the silver medal in the State Games U-16 soccer tournament.
Josh Creel and MacKenzie Johnson also scored one goal apiece for Northwest Rankin, which finished the weekend 2-1.
Under-16 Girls
Northwest Rankin 2
Vicksburg 0
Northwest Rankin got both its goals from Michelle Mailly and clinched the girls' under-16 soccer gold medal on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Vicksburg.
Goalie Jessica Curtis warded off a flurry of Vicksburg shots throughout the game in the championship-clinching shutout.
The victory capped a 3-0-1 weekend for Northwest Rankin. Earlier on Sunday, Northwest Rankin and Northeast Jackson played to a 1-1 tie. On Saturday, Northwest Rankin beat Gulf Coast 7-0 and then took a 4-2 win over CJSO Gold Force One.
In Sunday's other games in the girls U-16 division, Vicksburg beat CJSO 3-2, CJSO topped Gulf Coast 1-0, and NEJSO Outkast played to a scoreless tie with Gulf Coast Mason.
The scoreless tie between Outkast and Mason gave Central Jackson the bronze medal.
