CULLMAN – Getting a rare opportunity to play together at home on the same day, Cullman High School's soccer program made it senior recognition for the Class of 2016.
That group of seniors inspired the rest of their teammates to out dominate the games Tuesday at the Cullman Soccer Complex.
The No.1 ranked Bearcats took down James Clemens from Huntsville 4-0, thanks to two goals in the first half, a pair of goals in the second half and a stout performance from Kip Potter in goal.
That was followed by the 4th ranked Lady Bearcats crushing Hillcrest of Tuscaloosa 10-0. Cullman destroyed the Lady Patriots with six goals in the second half, getting the match to end on their 10th goal with 13:00 remaining.
Cullman was moved to the top of the 6A rankings on Monday. Coach Casey Harbin's unit started slow, but began to attack James Clemens and get the ball toward the Jets' goal after the match was almost 10 minutes old.
Miguel Tizapa-Robles took a pass from Seth Andrews and scored with 30:21 showing on the clock to put Cullman in front 1-0.
The Bearcats had only four shots on goal in the opening half. But despite very few chances, they would capitalize to extend the advantage.
Issac Rodriguez demonstrated his ability to go by defenders and knock down a shot from a long distance. His goal covered 30 yards and with 15:00 to play in the half, the Bearcats were now ahead 2-0.
Potter fought off six shots on goal by the Jets in the first 40:00. He had plenty of support from people in front of him, but it was his effort to keep the ball out of the net and keep the Jets off the scoreboard.
A goal by Rodriguez with 12:00 gone by in the second half sent the lead to 3-0. Then the finale on goals came less than 2:00 later when Guil Albuquerque got a pass from Tizapa-Robles and connected. Cullman now took a 4-0 lead and was able to preserve its eighth shutout of the season.
The Jets had seven opportunities against Potter in the second half, but couldn't cash in. Cullman withstood a couple of shot attempts in the final 2:00 and celebrated in playing for the first time since March 18 when they faced Grissom in Huntsville.
Cullman spent last week on spring break. The Bearcats are now 10-2 on the season.
The Lady Bearcats didn't waste time getting on the scoreboard in their match with Hillcrest. Riley Mead started the scoring with a goal less than 2:00 into the assignment.
Cullman moved to lead to 2-0 on a goal from Ninfa Moreno and it became 3-0 for the Lady 'Cats when Sophia Mead got her first goal of the night.
Ashleyn Cook became the fourth Lady Bearcat to score, getting this one into the net with 15:03 to play until intermission. Cullman had control of the match by a 4-goal margin with the best yet to come.
The Lady 'Cats stormed the Hillcrest defense and had five goals in a little over 11:00 to put the game well out of reach.
Moreno would convert her second goal, this one making it 5-0. Kaitlyn Cook scored for the first time in extending the margin to 6-0. This one came with 35:38 to play.
Cullman was ahead 7-0 on Riley Mead's second goal with 32:27 showing, Kaitlyn Cook was in the net for an 8-0 lead less than two minutes later.
Sophia Mead produced her second goal and the margin was 9-0. Five goals in 11 minutes on a total of 10 attempts.
Hillcrest was able to slow down the Cullman attack for over 14:00 minutes. The Lady 'Cats also took advantage of getting many to play in this game with Hillcrest unable to keep the ball in the Cullman zone much of the second half
Kaitlyn Cook, one of the leaders for coach Jacob Brown, connected on a shot from the left side from about 25 yards. This one ended the match by the mercy rule with Cullman winning by a score of 10-0.
Cullman defeated West Point in the same fashion the night before.
In total, the Lady 'Cats had five players to score with Kaitlyn Cook getting a hat trick and multiple goals scored by Riley Mead, Sophia Mead, Moreno and Ashleyn Cook. Erica Kelly, Jessi Canaday and Leah Shaddix handed out assists along with Kaitlyn Cook and Riley Mead.
Both teams resume play in Class 6A, Area 14 when they head to Huntsville Tuesday to take on Lee High School.
