Ebony scored two minutes into the match and the Panthers’ Morgan Creque equalized in the 24th. Makeda opened her account with goals in the 27th and 28th before Ebony added her second in the 32nd. Kelaine Smith gave the Avengers a 5-1 edge in the 38th and Zariya Smith made it 5-2 in the 46th frame. Ebony and Makeda added their third goals before the end of regulation.

“It was a very competitive game against the Panthers, they gave us a run for our money,” Goal Keeper Captain, Britney Peters told Island Sun Sports. “Everybody played well, they played rough, fair game, it was a really good game.”

Peters said the Panthers’ Morgan Creque socred a really good penalty and knows the game well.

“I gave her props for that,” Peters said of Creque’s score. “I was still on my feet, I was slow and wasn’t on my toes and she hit it straight into the corner and that was a good goal.”

Coach Jeffrey “Zambi” Deming agreed that it was a good competitive game.

“My ladies are fit and ready for this, so we’re going to see some good things going forward,” he said, noting the togetherness of the team and their shot selection. “I realized that the goal keeper wasn’t all that up and I told them to kick because that’s what we have been working on a lot-shooting.”

Demming told Island Sun Sports that in the second half when they scored the bulk of their goals, he made a lot of substitutions.

“We don’t want to leave out anyone,” he said. “We want everyone to be a part of it.”

Panthers Captain Joy-Ann Thomas, told Island Sun Sports that it was a rough start for her team that has new players and they’re playing together for the first time, now it’s time for them to gel.

“Our main focus was to keep our shape, we did okay, but we have to make a lot of improvement, but all in all, I was a good game, with good energy that we had as a team,” she noted. “We tried to encourage each other not to break down even when we’re down, so that was our goal and I think we accomplished that. This is just the first round. It was probably luck for them, but we’re going to come harder and better next time.”

Men’s Games

Sheldon Harry and Kevin Fisher-who scored in his third straight game in Greenland-helped league leaders Islands improve to 13-2-1, with a 2-0 victory over the Panthers, who fell to 8-7-1 in fourth place.

“It was a very fast played game despite the weather and the field not having lights, we still managed to come out victorious with my two good strikers-Kevin managing to score one and Harry the other one-so we’re happy,” Assistant coach LaToya Sue told Island Sun Sports. “We’re still in the first placed position and we plan to stay there.”

Panthers Coach Wade Phillips said his team lost possessions and didn’t apply a lot of pressure.

“We had some defensive errors so they capitalized and played a wonderful game.”

After Andres Bailey gave the Sugar Boys a 1-0 lead in the 81st minute of a defensive battle, the Wolues Luca Reich scored in the 84th and Noel Maxwell in the 90th as the second placers walked off 2-1 winners. The Wolues improved to 10-2-2, while the Sugar Boys slipped to 8-5-2.

In other games, Rebels moved to 6-10-0, when Elwin Feinty who scored an 89th minute in the 1-0 win over One Love, who are now 5-7-3. VG United, 4-9-3, thumped the 4-8-3 Old Madrid 4-0, with first half goals from Sheldon Tomey and T’Khoi Richardson, while Marknique Williams and Jevon Demming scored in the 2nd half to round out the goals.

Games on tap this weekend:

Saturday, 4:00 p.m., One Love and the Panthers at Greenland.

4:30 p.m. Women’s Match, Avengers and VG United at Cedar School.

Sunday at 4:00 p.m., One Caribbean and Wolues at Greenland.

5:45 p.m., Rebels and VG United, on Virgin Gorda.

8:00 p.m., Sugar Boys and Lion Heart on Virgin Gorda.