Soccer All-Stars Put on a Show for Fans

Over three hundred fans turned out to see the show put on by the inaugural DeKalb Soccer Coaches Association All-Stars on Wednesday at James R. Hallford Stadium in Clarkston.

The girls’ All-Stars were showcased first as Druid Hills’ Jane Neiswande scored a pair of goals in leading the Inside The Perimeter (ITP) squad to a 4-1 victory over the Outside The Perimeter (OTP) team.

Chamblee’s Allison Jones drew the OTP defense to her and found Neiswander for the first goal of the game on a nice pass past the goalie with 19:45 left in the first half to give ITP a 1-0 lead. The game went to the half tied at 1-1 as Dunwoody’s Becka Kilbourne nettea shot for the Outside The Perimeter (OTP) team with 2:21 to play in the half to knot the score.

Chamblee senior Taylor Smith got into the scoring act just two and half minutes into the second half as she got a rebound off a corner kick to give ITP a 2-1 lead it would never relinquish. Neiswander made it 3-1 just seven minutes later when she took a pass off a header in front of the goal and netted the ball.

Jones followed suit four minutes later as she picked up a deflection off the goalie to score the final goal of the game for the 4-1 final. Lakeside’s Raleigh Knight and Towers Shayla Rogers teamed up for seven saves in goal for the ITP squad and allowed just one goal.

The boys’ All-Stars battled to a 2-2 tie in the second game of the night bringing cheers from the crowd as the game see-sawed in favor of both teams throughout.

The ITP All-Stars drew first blood in the game as Cross Keys junior Moises Medina picked up a deflection off OTP goalie Luis Sanchez of Stone Mountain to score just four minutes into the game for a 1-0 ITP lead.

Miller Grove’s Roy Dixon got past the defense on a pin point pass from Dunwoody’s Falcundo Gurdit to tie the game at 1-1 for the OTP All-Stars at the 19:54 mark as he beat goalie Jimmile Jackson of Towers. The teams went into the half tied at 1-1 just as the girls’ All-Stars had done earlier.

The OTP players turned up the heat in the second half getting eight shots
on goal to just two for the ITP team. One of the shots deflected off ITP goalie Roberto Ramos to OTP’s Robel Davis Jr. for an easy tap in and a 2-1 lead for OTP with 18:35 to play in the game.

The OTP All-Stars continued to keep the ball in the ITP zone through most of the next six minutes, but ITP’s Jordy Banegas of Cross Keys split a pair of defenders on a nice pass from Sol Samuel of Druid Hills to get a shot on goal. Banegas made good with a shot into the left corner past a diving Grey LaRose of Dunwoody to knot the score at 2-2 with 12:15 to play.

The two teams battled with OTP having the advantage with shots on goal, but Ramos was solid after giving up the go-ahead goal as he turned away five shots on goal in the final 12 minutes to preserve the tie.

Mark Brock is the Athletics Statistician and Information Officer for DeKalb County Schools Athletics.