Murphy – Last week, the Lady Bulldogs’ soccer team got back on track with two wins, which snapped a three-game losing streak.
Meanwhile, Tri-County Early College (3-5) picked up a win against Blue Ridge (0-9) and also lost to Murphy (9-3). The Lady Dogs took on Tri-County and won 6-0 for their second straight win Thursday.
Murphy got the scoring going early with a goal from senior Lailee Holloway 17 seconds into the match. A little over halfway through the first half, Holloway scored again after receiving a pass in the middle of the goalkeepers box and burying it for her second of the match.
About seven minutes later, Isabel Parker scored her first goal of the night on a long free kick. With 1:30 left in the first half, Holloway got a hat trick after a long shot went into the upper 90 of the goal to give Murphy a 4-0 lead at halftime.
About seven minutes into the second half, Parker scored again from distance for her second of the night. Then, about halfway through the second half, Holloway scored her fourth goal of the night to secure the Last Dogs’ 6-0 win. Murphy possessed the ball for the majority of the game, but Tri-County improved on possession late in the match.
Along with her four-goal performance, Holloway also had five steals. Parker had two goals on five shots on goals, as well as a team-leading 12 steals. Kaydence Walton had two assists and Halie Hill and Brooklyn Johnson had one assist.
Lady Bulldogs head coach Kim Brownlee said her team played well and had a lot of positives in their match against Tri-County.
“I think they played really well. I think they could have done a little bit better. We’re always looking for changes and ways to play better. I think we were a little bit tentative on the back line in that first half. I like the adjustments they made to play a little more aggressive defensively and keep the ball on our end. We had a lot of shots going on tonight from different players, so I like that. A lot of positives. You know, Tri-County, they fight hard,” Brownlee said.
Brownlee detailed their plan for the remainder of the season and said, “Our objective is to win out. That’s what we have to do. We just want to do what we do and do our very best and see what happens after that. We’ll take this win and celebrate it tonight and be back to work tomorrow.”
On April 15, both Cherokee County women’s soccer teams picked up wins. Murphy headed to Cherokee (4-6) to take on the Lady Braves and got the 4-1 win, which snapped the Lady Bulldogs’ three-game losing streak.
Cherokee had the long goal in the first half, but after halftime adjustments, the Lady Dogs came out and scored four in the second half to defeat their Smoky Mountain Conference opponent. Lailee Holloway had three goals on nine shots on goal, as well as seven steals. Two of her three goals came on free kicks. Halie Hill had one goal and one assist with 12 steals. Isabel Parker led the team in steals with 14. Goalkeeper Emma Ledford had four saves on five shots faced.
Also on April 15, The Tri-County Lady Jaguars defeated Blue Ridge 2-1. This was the second time they have defeated them this season.
All three goals came in the first half of the match. Jasmine Tran scored the first goal with 17:31 remaining in the first half. Six minutes later, Blue Ridge scored an equalizer as the ball slipped through the keepers hands and into the corner of the goal. With 4:13 remaining in the half, Tran scored again after a perfectly placed pass led her to finding the back of the net.
The second half had a lot of back and forth play in the middle of the pitch. Tri-County possessed the ball for most of the half with multiple scoring chances. Even though they didn’t score in the second half, the Lady Jaguars had control and got their third victory of the season.
The Lady Bulldogs’ next match is Thursday when they will travel to Hayesville to take on the Lady Yellow Jackets (1-6) at 4 p.m. Also on Thursday, Tri-County will host Summit Charter at David Gentry Field in Murphy at 6 p.m.