Houston County soccer team knocks off Richmond Hill
Houston County slumbered through a lackluster opening half but ambushed Richmond Hill after the break to pull away for a 6-1 victory in the opening round of the GHSA Boys Class AAAAA soccer playoffs Tuesday.
The Bears (17-2-1) did strike early to get the advantage. Just more than nine minutes into the contest, Carlos Aguilera’s cross found the head of Hunter Germundsen, who hammered it into the back of the net. Germundsen had come on just minutes earlier and was the first substitute of the game for either side.
The match remained 1-0 into the second half when Richmond Hill (10-6-1) had its best chance to tie the game. James Ryrner’s right footed shot across the face of Houston County keeper Declan Furlough clanged off of the far post and the Bears pounced immediately.
Rushing to the far end on a counter attack, senior Michael Fussell curled his shot into the corner just seconds after Ryrner’s near miss and Houston County’s star Cristian Medina took over from there.
The senior scored twice in the span of 29 seconds and added two more in the span of seven minutes total to put the game away.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Medina: Houston County’s candidate for a fourth straight Middle Georgia Player of the Year award after Steven Moore graduated with the previous three, put on a show. Medina is technically better than any player on the field, and he took over the game offensively in the second half with four goals.
Furlough: The Bears’ keeper made several key saves to maintain the Houston County lead in the first half, including a quick reaction stop to his right. He lost the shutout in the game’s final two minutes after the Bears made wholesale substitutions.
Ryrner: Richmond Hill’s best player finally broke through with a goal late to get the Wildcats’ on the board, but he had two other excellent chances denied by Furlough and the goalpost.
THEY SAID IT
Houston County head coach Jason Kirk on his message at halftime: “I told them we were just going through the motions. Everything was slow, just very, very slow.”
Kirk on Medina’s breakout second half: “He was very disappointed in himself at halftime with no shots on goal. Cristian is the kind of player to just say, ‘Come on, I got this’ and then he scores four in 10 minutes.”
Kirk on Furlough’s near clean sheet: “He’s actually come along really well these past couple of games. He’s played his best two games the past two games. That first save, if they can score that it might be a whole different ballgame. He’s talking a lot more and being a leader out there.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Houston County will face the winner of Dunwoody and North Atlanta on Tuesday. The Bears will host should North Atlanta prevail and travel if Dunwoody comes away with the victory.
This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 8:53 PM with the headline "Houston County soccer team knocks off Richmond Hill."