FAIRHOPE, Alabama - The Enterprise Wildcats scored a late goal in the second half to secure the win over the host Fairhope Pirates in the opening game of the Southern Shootout Soccer Tournament.

Jeffrey Palomarez broke away off a turnover and was able to escape the sprawling Pirate goalie John Baxter and buried the ball deep in the Pirate net at the 22 minute mark of the second half.

“It feels great it was our second win on the season,” Wildcat head coach Ed Howard said. “It sets a positive tone for the rest of the tournament; there is no doubt about that. We take every day, every game and learn to get better. We kept battling and I’m proud of them for that.

The two battled through a very a conservative first half before the two teams opened it up a bit, especially at the beginning of the second half.

“I thought we played exceptionally well. I felt we were a little unlucky in our attach, there were a couple of balls that could have went our way,” Pirate coach Paul Stroud said. “We were patient in the first half and we started to lose a little of that patience (in the second half) but I was pleased how we played. All the respect in the world to Enterprise they played well and they were nice and tight defensively. When they got their opportunities they took advantage of it. It was a nice first match for us.”

The Pirates offense was able to muster a total of 10 shots on the night in their opening game of the tournament. Senior Easton Richardson tallied five of those shots, most of them coming in the second half.

With a total of 30 teams broken up into four flights, this tournament gives teams the opportunity to get their season off to a good start.

“All tournaments are nice this time of year,” Stroud said. “These guys don’t like losing and they are hurting a little bit but at the end of the day it’s not a long term deal and you can see your team grow. All of these tournaments are important."

FAIRHOPE GIRLS WIN TWO: The Fairhope Lady Pirates got a goal in the first half and rode that momentum to a win in their first game of the tournament against visiting Trinity.

Midway through the first half sophomore Anne Barre hit senior team mate Darian Hill on a centering pass that she was able to get past the goal tender to give the Pirates the lead that would last until the final whistle.

“It feels great. The girls played hard and it was an aggressive game,” Pirate head coach Courtney Calhoun said. “We went out there and played our game. We tried to settle down and keep control of the ball. The girls did a good job of sticking to our game plan.”

The win was the first of two the Pirates would get in the first day of the tournament. The Pirates beat the Prattville Lions in the night cap of the tournament 3-2 to start the tournament undefeated and sit atop of their flight standings.