The DeKalb  County soccer team hosted the first round  of the regional tournament against the Chattanooga Christian Chargers on Monday evening. The Tigers lost 4-0 as they fell to the defending state champions.
The game’s first scoring opportunity came from the Chargers at the four-minute mark when they were awarded a corner kick. On the corner attempt, the Chargers passed the ball out to set up a set piece. A shot was taken towards the goal but it was defender Thomas Beltz who deflected the would-be-goal and cleared the ball from the immediate danger. Shortly after the deflected shot, the Tigers caught the Chargers with too much of a head start and caught them offsides.
DeKalb, now with the ball, looked to march up field but was unsuccessful as the defense for the Chargers was stiff and disciplined as they won the ball back. As Chattanooga moved the ball down field, the back line for DeKalb found itself outmatched with four attackers on the move and only three defenders to stop the run of the Chargers. Beltz would pressure the forward and deflect a pass for a corner kick.
On the corner, Chattanooga sent the ball through the air and connected with a header but the shot was stopped by the quick reactions of Tiger keeper Ben Driver. After the clear out, Driver  didn’t make solid contact with the ball and the kick was short, which allowed  Chattanooga to  gain possession with a short field to travel with little to no help from the defense as they did not have time to get into position. It was Driver and a single attacker one-on-one. Driver made the save as he came out and slid into the ball and tripped the attacker up, forcing him to the ground on a beautiful piece of physical goal-keeper play.
At the nine-minute mark, the Chargers nearly found themselves with the goal as they had a throw in from about 20 yards out and connected with a header that would hit the cross bar then roll out of bounds for a goal kick.
At the 13-minute mark, the Chargers broke through the Tiger defense and took a shot from about 23 yards out. The shot would sail high and left for a goal kick. The Chargers continued their assault on the Tigers, this time coming from a cross at the 16-minute mark. The cross attempt was good as the ball found its way to the middle of the field where shot was taken. Denied, said Mason Merriman, as he stepped into the path of the ball and sent it out of play for a throw in. On the throw in the Chargers tossed it back into the 18-yard box, this time to the feet of back-line defender Zach Thompson as he would clear the ball back to mid-field.
The Tigers would see limited chances throughout the game, the first of few came at the 20-minute mark as Juan Torres slipped through the defense and took a non-threatening shot at the keeper and was easily stopped for a clear out.
Chattanooga Christian was on the cusp of a goal at the 22-minute mark as the Chargers again broke down the Tigers’ defense and took a slow rolling shot at Driver. The ball appeared to be non-threatening and Driver anticipated the ball to roll out of bounds, but it would roll up  and hit the post, deflecting back into play, forcing Driver to dive on the live ball and narrowly avoiding a humiliating goal.
DeKalb would have one more chance at goal when they were awarded a corner at the 24-minute mark. Geovany Guzman sent the ball through the air  looking to connect with any Tiger for a goal but the attempt  fell short as the defense of Chattanooga cleared the ball away.
Chattanooga Christian would continue to abuse the back line of the Tigers as at the 27-minute mark the back line was again beaten by the quick offense of Chattanooga Christian with a chance to score but shanked the shot for a goal kick.
Driver was again having problems on the clear out as he booted it short, allowing their opponents to break on the ball and make a play. Again it was accuracy issues that saved the Tigers as the Charger forward could not hit his target and the ball sailed wide left for a another goal kick.
Thomas Beltz would prove again to be a reliable defender when the Chargers were set up with a cross coming into play. Again Beltz stood his ground and deflected another shot, saving it from entering the goal.
The high-pace offense for Chattanooga Christian would pay off at the 32-minute mark from a corner, this time put through in the air and connected good for a goal to make it 1-0.
At the 35-minute mark, the ball was brought down inside the six-yard box of DeKalb. With the box cluttered with defenders and attackers’ visibility limited, Driver caught a peek of the ball as it rose to the top of the goal and stopped the ball with a quick reaction save.
The Tigers would  push downfield and manage to get a shot off but was deflected for a corner. On the corner Brandon Leiser would pass the ball out to Luis Richards, who then made a back pass to Eli Lomas took a line-drive shot attempt at the keeper but with a diving save he stopped the ball from hitting the back of the net.
In extra time, DeKalb had their back against the wall and Chattanooga was up to take a corner kick. The ball was sent into the middle of the field where Driver came out to make a save but couldn’t corralled the ball as it rolled towards the net. It was Thompson who saved the ball from rolling in for a second goal and ending the first half.
Through the first 40 minutes of the game, the Tigers were still alive holding their own against the former state champions. Chattanooga Christian dominated possession in the first half 70 percent to the Tigers’ 30 percent. Driver had seven saves. The Tigers struggled with their shooting, taking only four shots in the first half  with only two on target.
In the second half, no time was wasted by Chattanooga as they rolled downfield to score against the Tigers in the second minute of play, chipping the keeper for goal number two.
The Chargers kept their momentum going with another goal coming at the seven-minute mark as  they would blow past the defense and force  Driver to  decide which way to guess the shot. Driver wouldn’t get the lucky guess and a third goal was scored. The 12-minute mark began a string of yellow cards that the Tigers would accumulate, starting with Zach Taylor as he was carded for misconduct.
Chattanooga was awarded a free kick at the 14-minute mark and put the ball in play. They connected with a header that required Driver to make a diving save for a corner kick. At the 25-minute mark, Javier Sanchez was given a yellow card. Shortly after Richards was given a yellow card for reasons unknown.
The Chargers would strike again in the 29-minute mark as they put the ball in goal, beating the back line yet again. Richards would be forced to leave the game at the 32-minute mark when he received his second yellow card resulting into a red card.
The Tigers had another small chance from Sanchez when he slipped past the defense and took a shot that was off target and went for a goal kick. The Tigers reattained possession on the goal kick and passed the ball around, holding their own against the former state champions. Chattanooga Christian dominated possession in the first half 70 percent to the Tigers’ 30 percent. Driver had seven saves. The Tigers struggled with their shooting, taking only four shots in the first half  with only two on target.
In the second half, no time was wasted by Chattanooga as they rolled downfield to score against the Tigers in the second minute of play, chipping the keeper for goal number two.
The Chargers kept their momentum going with another goal coming at the seven-minute mark as  they would blow past the defense and force  Driver to  decide which way to guess the shot. Driver wouldn’t get the lucky guess and a third goal was scored. The 12-minute mark began a string of yellow cards that the Tigers would accumulate, starting with Zach Taylor as he was carded for misconduct.
Chattanooga was awarded a free kick at the 14-minute mark and put the ball in play. They connected with a header that required Driver to make a diving save for a corner kick. At the 25-minute mark, Javier Sanchez was given a yellow card. Shortly after Richards was given a yellow card for reasons unknown.
The Chargers would strike again in the 29-minute mark as they put the ball in goal, beating the back line yet again. Richards would be forced to leave the game at the 32-minute mark when he received his second yellow card resulting into a red card.
The Tigers had another small chance from Sanchez when he slipped past the defense and took a shot that was off target and went for a goal kick. The Tigers reattained possession on the goal kick and passed the ball around,only for play to be stopped at the 35-minute mark, when Beltz would receive a yellow card and shortly later also receive his second yellow and left the game.
Juan Torres  broke away in extra time with a chance at goal but his shot was knocked down by the keeper and was then cleared. Following the clear, the whistle sounded for the end of the game, knocking the Tigers out of the regional tourney and ending their season.