DEMOPOLIS &8212; Coach Peter Keen came into the Demopolis Girls Soccer Team&8217;s match up against Hillcrest High School expecting a victory, and his squad, which is 13-2, gave him the victory he expected against the 6A team, though he said he saw some areas the team could stand to work on in the match.

The team came out with guns blazing and scored its first goal of the match early in the abysmal, dreary weather. Ninth grade midfielder Keely Rodrigues lead the charge and shot a medium range shot just inside the box to draw first blood with an assist from Margaret Landerfelt.

Megan Keen accounted to for the other two goals that would account for the team&8217;s scoring on the day. Coach Keen said, though the team shut out its opponent 3-0, he would like to work on both defense and finishing with his players before the team enters the playoffs.

Though there was inclement weather and the team is a division lower than Hillcrest, Keen said he though the team should gain a victory prior to the game. Keen said there was a time he scheduled Hillcrest to give his fledgling team practice against a stronger opponent, but those times are no more. He said as the team has matured over four years, the level of competition between the to schools has reversed, giving Demopolis the upper hand.

Keen said the only games left on the schedule for the girls team that are in its area are a pair of matches against Gardendale on April 17 and the 27. He said if the team wins those two games it will receive a home berth for the first game of the playoffs, facing the team that is responsible for Demopolis&8217; two losses &8212; John Carroll.

The two games the team has lost, both against John Carroll High School out of Birmingham, have been lost by a margin of one point. Not only have they been lost by a margin of one point, but the goals against Demopolis have come off deflections from defenders of the Tigers. Technically John Carroll, the No. 2 team in the state in the Tigers&8217; division, has yet to score against the team, which is currently rank No. 3.