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The Troup boys soccer team earned a hard-fought 3-1 region win over Spalding. The team had to dig deep to get the win and the team was led by a trio of leaders — seniors Augusto Merida, Yuri Kim and junior Braidyn Patrick.

“We started out pretty good and then we were able to keep up the momentum for the rest of the game,” Patrick said. “We feel like we could have scored more.”

Merida and Patrick would each score a goal in a tightly contested first half that saw Troup leading 2-1 at the break. It was a special moment for Merida, a man of few words, who marked his 18th birthday with a goal.

“It was a pretty good feeling,” Merida said, smiling. “It’s been an up-and-down season so it was good to get a win.” 

Merida is the last brother in a long line of Merida brothers to play for Troup High. 

Patrick has been on a strong run of form, converting the winning penalty in a shootout with Sandy Creek last week and grabbing a goal in the first half on Tuesday.

“I’m not going to lie, tonight was not the best game for me so there are definitely mixed feelings, but it’s always good to score,” Patrick said. “It’s great to score because I know I can play better than that but I still had an impact.” 

Kim put a closing on proceedings with a goal from outside of the box that deflected off a Spalding defender and nestled into the corner of the net. 

“I saw an opening in the top corner of the goal and I squeezed it in there,” Kim said. 

The Tigers would come close to adding a fourth with Austen Snellings flashing a header just high among other big chances late in the match as the game got stretched.

Kim, Merida and fellow senior Ephrem Davidson were all celebrated before the game as part of senior night. 

“These are my people, these are my family,” Kim said. “I’ve been playing with Troup soccer since I was in eighth grade and me and Augusto have been playing together for five years.”

Troup improved to 6-6 overall and 4-1 in region play. The Tigers have won three of their past four games and are starting to find a rhythm. Troup will have another massive home region game on Friday against Trinity Christian.