Wildcats whip Dothan High Tigers in soccer battle

Enterprise High School downed Dothan, 3-1, in soccer action at Westgate Park in Dothan Tuesday.
Ben Maxham scored a pair of Wildcat goals and Evan Beutler got the third.
“Prior to the game at the coin toss, there was a very stern warning provided by the referee concerning sportsmanship and fair-play given to both teams,” said EHS coach Tom McDermott. “But the game was marred by a total of 16 yellow cards (11 DHS players, 1 DHS coach, and 4 Enterprise players), and 4 red cards (4 DHS players - 2 soft reds and 2 hard reds - resulting in ejection from the stadium).
“Unfortunately, the fouls and lack of control of the Dothan players became the story of the game as opposed to the game itself. The opening goal came off of a completion of a penalty kick by Maxham, who was fouled during a corner-kick restart.
“This hard charge by the Dothan player on Maxham prior to ball being serviced to the field set the tone of the game, as well as the constant dissent throughout the game every time the whistle would blow, (as) evidenced by the number of yellow and red cards.”
McDermott said the Wildcats controlled the ball early in the match.
“The play was predominantly in the Dothan end of the field, with Enterprise providing a steady pressure from our offense with the occasional long ball fast-break by Dothan using their fast strikers,”
McDermott explained. “Dothan’s 2 shots on goal in the first half were handled quickly by the keeper, who came out sliding upon the ground to deny the attempts.
“The second goal by Enterprise was scored by Maxham, again off a cross by Martin Gonzalez. Maxham almost missed the shot, while under heavy pressure from the Dothan defenders, but hit the underside of the crossbar as it went in from the 6-yard line.
“The game continued to the halfway mark with hard physical play by Dothan, and pressure by Enterprise, in our offensive third of the field, interspersed with referee whistles, followed by Dothan dissent and yellow cards.”
The game continued as it had begun following intermission.
“As the second half was getting under way, the Dothan team started to unravel under the attacking pressure,” McDermott said.
“That, coupled with their inability to contain their emotions after being cited for fouls started the long trail of yellow and red cards being issued by the referee which sealed the outcome of the game.
“Each foul, followed by dissent by the Dothan player, was matched with a yellow card, eventually escalating to red with the Dothan player being sent off the pitch and then out of the stadium.
“Evan Beutler scored on a corner-kick attempt that curled into the upper 90 of the goal frame midway into the second half further placing the game out of reach for the Tigers.
Dothan did score with 10 minutes left to the game on a breakaway attempt, spoiling the shutout.”
Enterprise returns to action Friday night for an area home game at R.L. Bates Memorial Stadium against Smiths Station.
The junior varsity boys will play at 5 p.m., and the varsity game will start at 6:45 pm.
“Friday night is a big home game for us,” McDermott concluded. “It will be our toughest opponent in area games, and we are truly trying to get more supporters into the seats to cheer the boys on!”