On Friday, No. 6 Lambert ended second-ranked South Forsyth's remarkable unbeaten start with a 2-0 shutout victory and remain unbeaten at home with a 5-0 record.
“It’s nothing like playing at The Horn,” Lambert head boys soccer coach Chris Wilson said.
Being together as a team, pressuring the ball and working hard were the keys to the Longhorns' victory, according to Wilson.
As a result of a War Eagle foul, the Longhorns got a free kick, but their attempt at goal sailed too high. A minute later, the Longhorns came back to their side, and Cole Nelson rocketed a shot from 12 yards out for the first goal.
South Forsyth came close to answering, but its corner kick hit the side of the goal instead of going in.
South Forsyth, who came into the Region 6-7A matchup scoring three goals per contest, went into halftime scoreless and down 1-0.
Into the second half, Lambert received a free kick after Nelson was fouled on his way to the goal. After the free kick, Nelson nearly got his second goal of the game, but War Eagles junior goalkeeper Johan Kohnen slid to put a stop to the rolling ball.
A crucial play by the War Eagles ended with them giving up a goal by knocking the ball into their own net.
At the 8:47 mark of the second half, South Forsyth got an opportunity to even the score when the ref issued the War Eagles a free kick. The War Eagles tried to disguise who was going to take the kick, but the ball was sent too high.
In the late stages of the game, Longhorns goalie Zach Linder was making crazy saves to prevent the War Eagles from scoring, denying three consecutive goal attempts.
With the win, Lambert evens its region record at 1-1 — bouncing back from a loss to Denmark on penalties — and improves to 8-1-1 overall. South Forsyth, which entered ranked No. 6 across all classifications, falls to 9-1 and 1-1.
Girls: Lambert 1, South Forsyth 0
It was a 1-0 shutout home victory for the Lambert Longhorns girls soccer team over the South Forsyth War Eagles on Friday night.
Lambert didn’t shy away from trying to get an early lead with a goal attempt that went too wide. The Longhorns put themselves in a scoring position with two corner kicks, but South Forsyth's defense defended them well to leave the score at 0-0.
As the game approached the 13-minute mark, a good defensive stand by the War Eagles prevented two Longhorns from scoring an easy goal.
Despite having a great shot at the net, Alyssa Ramsey failed to put the ball into the goal. Another Longhorn tried to score but War Eagles goalkeeper Megan Davis was there to jump in front and deflect the ball.
The ball rolled towards Zia Patel, and she shot with no hesitation and scored.
In the second half, Lambert controlled the pace, but the War Eagles did not allow the Longhorns to get a goal despite four attempts.
Lambert will take the victory, though, improving to 4-3-2 overall and 1-1 in Region 6-7A. South Forsyth (1-9, 0-2) came up narrowly short of possibly winning its second game, as the War Eagles offense remains stuck on three goals for the year.