MILTON, Ga. -- On a brisk evening in Bear Country, the Cambridge Boys Soccer Team fell 1-0 to the Forsyth Central Bulldogs in a varsity scrimmage on Tuesday night, January 28th. Forsyth Central was on the attack from the opening whistle, but the Bears were able to survive the initial onslaught without conceding a goal thanks to some good work by keeper Christian Lopez (2021), who had multiple saves, and the ghost of Nic Sides (2019) as a Bulldogs' shot hit the woodwork. After a bumpy first 30 minutes that saw the Bears under constant pressure, Cambridge found its footing to create some quality chances to end the first half. Reece Degen's (2020) shot at the 34-minute mark just rolled past the post, and the teams went into their respective locker rooms scoreless.
The second half saw a much more aggressive and precise Cambridge offense with combinations through the midfield creating multiple opportunities for goals. The best chance came on a Forsyth Central handball just outside the box, with Degen forcing a reaction save from the death-metal voiced Bulldogs keeper on the resulting free kick. However, Forsyth Central found the back of the net in the 68th minute on an opportunistic longball from midfield to a lone striker who was able to win the footrace and get a touch to the ball that just eluded keeper Torren Celio (2020) for the lone tally of the scrimmage. Cambridge immediately responded with its best sustained attack, first on a setup from Andre Grant (2023) to Degen who narrowly missed the frame, and then on a Lucas Pegorer (2020) shot from inside the box that was well saved by the Forsyth Central keeper.
The match marked the first official varsity action for a host of Bear players including freshmen Jack Engler, Andre Grant, Noah Guertin, Colin Clark and Carson Cassady.
The Bears kick off the regular season with a home match on Tuesday, February 4th at 7PM vs. South Forsyth.
Go Bears!