Varsity soccer teams in the county had a busy week, as Andrews and Murphy had two matches, while Tri-County Early College played in one.
Murphy earned two wins, Andrews split its week and Tri-County fell on the road.
Andrews vs. Murphy
For the first time this season, the Wildcats (1-2) and Bulldogs (4-2-1) met on the soccer field. But this time it was different as it is the first time they have played with Andrews having a boys only squad for the fall season instead of co-ed.
It was a back and forth first half with only one goal on Sept. 8. The Bulldogs found the back of the net when Jerry Bui scored the first half’s only goal.
In the second half, the Dogs poured it on with eight more goals. Murphy’s second half goal scorers were led by Tyler Payne who notched a hat trick. Also netting goals were Kole Ritz, Andrew White, Jaden Rice and Elijah Twiggs.
The match ended in a 9-0 mercy rule finish when Murphy scored its ninth goal of the game with 5:14 left in the second half.
Tri-County @ Tuscola
Also on Sept. 8, the Tri-County Jaguars (0-3) traveled to Waynesville to face Tuscola (4A, 2-5-1).
In the first half, Tuscola scored six goals to lead 6-0 at halftime. In the second half, they scored three goals to reach the nine needed to end the match early.
Tuscola won the match 9-0 for their first win against a Cherokee County opponent after they tied with Murphy 2-2 on Aug. 18. Tri-County goalkeeper Julian Arvizu made 15 saves in the match.
Murphy vs. Madison
The Dogs returned home on Set. 10 to face Madison (3A, 2-7) in their final non-conference game. Murphy secured the 6-0 win, led by Elijah Twiggs with four goals.
Just over 10 minutes into the match, Elijah Twiggs scored the first goal. Twiggs got the rebound from a corner kick to give the Dogs a 1-0 lead.
With just over one minute remaining in the first half, Andrew White found the back of the net on a shot from the top of the box to give Murphy a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
Only 16 seconds into the second half, Bui received the first of numerous yellow cards that the referee’s handed out during the match. Both sides received multiple yellow cards for various infractions.
Just under 10 minutes into the second half, Twiggs found the back of the net again to extend Murphy’s lead to 3-0.
Five minutes late, Jonathan Lamb scored to give Murphy a 4-0 lead. Lamb picked up the rebound after a throw in ball made its way outside of the group of players in the box, opening the door for a clear shot from Lamb.
Murphy’s third goal of the second half came as Twiggs netted his hat trick goal with 21:52 remaining. It was the Dogs’ third goal within a 10-minute span.
With about 14 minutes remaining in the match, Twiggs found the back of the net once again for his fourth goal of the match and Murphy’s fourth goal of the second half.
Murphy cruised to a 6-0 win to close out non-conference games. Head coach Andrew Zenobi said it felt good to get the win, but the Dogs can’t get ahead of themselves.
To prepare for their next matches, Zenobi said there will be a focus on being deliberate. They will be deliberate in their movements, passes and defending, as well as being more disciplined.
With their defeat of Madison, the Dogs wrapped up their non-conference games with a record of 1-2-1.
Andrews @ Swain County
The Wildcats hit the road for the first time this season and faced conference opponents Swain County (1-6) on Sept. 10.
Andrews earned their first of the season, as well as their first win as a boys team and not a co-ed squad with their 3-1 defeat of Swain.
Swain scored the first goal of the match to take an early lead. Their lead was short-lived as Gabe Clark tied the game 30 seconds later. Myca Mustin added another goal before halftime for the Wildcats to lead 2-1 at halftime.
In the second half, they tacked on one more as Mustin scored his second goal of the match.
The Wildcats secured their first win of the season as they downed Swain 3-1 for their first win this season.
Clark’s first half goal was Andrews’ first goal of the season in their third match.
Up next
Conference games continue today. Murphy will host Summit Charter and Andrews will travel to Highlands. Both game are set to kick off at 6 p.m.
At 6 p.m. Monday, Tri-County will host Blue Ridge Early College, while Andrews will host Summit Charter at 6 p.m.