Canes edge Ringgold on Duarte's penalty kick

February 12, 2026

The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes edged out the visiting Ringgold Tigers 1-0 in a hard-fought boys soccer matchup on Thursday night, securing a gritty shutout victory on their home pitch.

The game remained scoreless through a tense first half, with both defenses holding firm and neither side creating clear-cut chances. The breakthrough came in the 63rd minute, when the Hurricanes were awarded a penalty kick after a foul in the penalty area.

Junior Fily Duarte stepped up to take the spot kick, but his initial attempt was denied by the Ringgold goalkeeper. Undeterred, Duarte pounced on the rebound, calmly pushing the deflected ball into the back of the net to give Cartersville the 1-0 lead.

The Tigers pushed forward in search of an equalizer, generating pressure as the clock ticked down. Ringgold's best opportunity came on a dangerous breakaway in the 70th minute, but Hurricanes goalkeeper Cash Priest made a crucial save to preserve the clean sheet and deny the visitors.

Cartersville's back line stood tall the rest of the way, frustrating Ringgold's attacks and protecting the narrow advantage until the final whistle.

The win improves the Purple Hurricanes to 2-1 on the young season, Ringgold drops to 1-1.

CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 7, RINGGOLD 1 The Lady Canes earned their first win of the season on Thursday, defeating visiting Ringgold 7-1. The loss dropped the Lady Tigers to 0-2 on the season. Cartersville improved to 1-2.