By: Sam Carter
STATESBORO, Ga. – South Georgia Tormenta FC fell to Birmingham Legion FC in its USL W League home opener on Friday night, 2-1, in front of a passionate crowd from Optim Sports Medicine Field at Tormenta Stadium.
“What we learn as coaches is that we really want to see the character of the players. They played beautifully, there were a lot of nice things and positives to take away, but at the end of the day, we have to be able to put games away when we have them on their heels a little bit. We just didn’t do that today. Nothing to be disappointed about, but we just have to learn from it.”
Jim Robbins, Tormenta FC Head Coach
Tormenta FC dominated the first half of play off confident midfield play. Off a corner from Peyton Chick, Gemma Jefferson got onto the end of a skirmish in the penalty box to slot the home team in front, 1-0. Birmingham threatened the Tormenta FC goal with a shot of the crossbar midway through the half, but the Statesboro side took the one-goal lead into halftime.
To start the second half, Alaysia Lane and Sarah Hagg entered the field of play for Kaylie Chambers and Jhenesis Ellerbe. Tess Werts found success down the left side of the field and delivered several crosses into the likes of Taylor Golden and Alaysia Lane, but they could not convert. Deep in stoppage time, Birmingham capitalized on a breakaway run to equalize before an own goal from Cora Brendle gave the visitors the full-time lead.
“We’ll have to do a little squad rotation, but we have no choice with as close as the games are together. The goal is to go out there and play well to try and get the three points on Monday.”
Jim Robbins, Tormenta FC Head Coach
The South Georgia squad welcomes Tennessee SC to town on Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. ET from Optim Sports Medicine Field at Tormenta Stadium.
In June of 2021, Tormenta FC was named a founding member of the USL W League, an elite pre-professional pathway for women looking to build their careers both on and off the pitch. Tormenta FC won its first-ever USL W League title in 2022 after defeating the Minnesota Aurora in front of 6,500 fans in Eagan, Minnesota.
Tormenta FC provides opportunities to local and national players to develop and start their professional careers in Statesboro, Georgia. In just one year, Tormenta FC’s USL W League team has produced six professional players with Sydney Martinez joining Jenae Packard, Emily Burke, Kelly Giddes, Abigail Wolf and Jodi Medina as the latest player to sign a contract in Europe.
For additional information and scheduling interviews, email: epintor@tormentafc.com.
