El Dorado’s soccer girls downed Lake Hamilton 3-1 Thursday in 5A South action. The Lady Wildcats improved to 3-2-1 in conference with the win. The Lady Wolves slid to 3-3 in league play.
El Dorado took the lead with three goals scored by London Ingram in the first half. Bestiny Chambers and Katie Whitten had assists.
Lake Hamilton scored an own goal in the second half. El Dorado goalkeeper Keyla Ramirez, playing for injured Layla Webb, recorded three saves.
“This was a big win for us,” said El Dorado coach Neville Matthews. “Every conference game is big because we’ve lost two in conference already. We’re not jelling yet. The skill level of the players is down a little bit. What we’ve got is what we’ve got and we’re working with it.”
Webb sustained a concussion in Tuesday’s 7-0 loss at Hot Springs Lakeside. The defense rallied around Ramirez, normally a defender, who started in goal.
“The defense held pretty tough. They’re getting it together,” said Matthews. “They played pretty good. They were determined not to lose two games in a row.”
In an effort to free up Ingram, Matthews said the senior moved from her striker position back to an attacking midfielder. Once the Lady Wildcats secured the lead, Ingram played more on defense in the second half.
“I didn’t want to give up that lead,” said the coach. “After they scored that own goal, they had a little momentum.”
El Dorado will travel to Hot Springs on Monday in a make-up game.