Russellville rolled past Monroe County Tuesday night with a 5-1 victory at the RHS soccer field. The Panthers scored two minutes into the half, when Hill Rowland scored on a breakaway to give Russellville an early 1-0 lead. Rowland was injured on the play when he collided with the Monroe County Goalie. He was carried off of the field and taken to the hospital for x-rays. The remainder of the half was an offensive struggle for the Panthers.

The Panther defense stepped up and gave the Falcons few scoring opportunities, until the 1:13 minute mark of the first half, when Monroe scored to tie the game, 1-1 at the break.

With one of his offensive weapons injured and the offense rattled, Coach Eric Evans made offensive adjustments that paid big dividends for the Panthers in the second half. At the 35:29 minute mark of the second half, Browning Smith converted a penalty kick to give the Panthers a 2-1 advantage. The Panthers scored fourteen minutes later when Chris Phillips, with an assist from Jonathan Hindman, scored to make the score 3-1, Panthers. Fifty seconds later, Hindman again made a seem-splitting pass to Phillips, who connected, giving the Panthers a 4-1 lead. The Panther offense was held in check, until the 1:59 mark, when Charles Woodard scored on a pass from Smith, making the final score 5-1.

The second half Panther defense was a swarming approach that kept the Falcon offense in disarray. Tough play to the ball, hustle and determination, made the defensive effort a success in the second half.

Hill Rowland returned to the side lines late in the second half, but could not play. At press time, the injury was diagnosed as torn ligaments in the ankle. He has an appointment with an orthopedic doctor on Thursday.

The Panthers evened the season record at 3-3.