In-county rivals Murphy and Andrews high schools meet on the pitch twice during the week with both soccer matches having the same result.
The Lady Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats by scores of 9-0 and 7-0 as Murphy continues its push to sit atop the conference.
Dogs win 9-0
In the first meeting between in-county rivals, the Lady Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats 9-0 in just under 50 minutes.
The two teams met in Andrews on April 13 for their first meeting of the season.
Murphy had five goals in the first half and then scored four goals in less than 10 minutes in the second half for the mercy rule win.
The Lady Dogs opened the scoring just over three minutes into the match after a deflected ball found the back of the net.
Less than 10 minutes later, Halie Hill scored her first goal of the first on a penalty kick to give the Dogs a 2-0 lead with 29:40 remaining in the match.
With 16:52 left, Leah Beebe scoring from in front of the goal to give the Dogs a 3-0 lead.
Hill scored her second goal of the night with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half. She found the back of the net from just outside the box to give the Dogs a 4-0 lead.
With just under six minutes left before halftime, Murphy took a 5-0 lead as Ella Ledford scored on a breakaway.
The Lady Dogs took the 5-0 lead to halftime after controlling the first 40 minutes of the match.
Just under five minutes into the second half, Hill scored her third goal of the night to give her the hat trick. After she dribbled around Andrews defenders, she scored to give the Dogs a 6-0 lead.
Less than two minutes later, Hill scored again on a left foot shot in the box as the Dogs led 7-0.
Hill scored against less than a minute later for her fifth goal of the match and third of the second half. Her goal gave the Lady Dogs a 8-0 lead just under eight minutes into the second half.
After Murphy scored its eighth goal, they sat a handful of starters for the remainder of the match.
Just 9:54 into the scored half, Brooklyn Johnson chipped the ball over the keeper for the Lady Dogs’ ninth goal of the match.
With the 9-0 lead, the match ended with a mercy rule finish after just 49:54. The win is Murphy’s biggest so far this season, topping its 7-0 win over Cherokee on March 9.
Dogs win 7-0
The Dogs and Cats met for the second time on Friday, this time in Murphy.
The Lady Bulldogs scored two goals in the first half for an early lead. They extended their lead with five goals in the second half to win the match 7-0.
Murphy wraps the week up with two straight conference wins after falling to Summit Charter on March 31.
Friday’s loss to Murphy was the Wildcats’ fourth straight in the conference.
Cats fall on road
For the second time this season, the Lady Wildcats fell to Highlands. This time, it was on the road 3-1 on Thursday night.
The first 30 minutes of the match were deadlocked with neither team able to breakthrough and score, despite multiple chances for both teams.
With just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Andrews goalkeeper Sadie Mustin made a huge save on a Highlands breakaway to keep the match tied.
Then about 30 seconds later, Andrews had an unintentional handball in the box, leading to a Highlands penalty kick.
The Lady Highlanders scored on the penalty to take a 1-0 lead, which they took to halftime. Highlands opened the second half with a goal 4:32 in to extend its lead to 2-0.
With just over 13 minutes remaining in the match, Highlands found the back of the net on a breakaway to lead 3-0. With 6:45 left, Andrews scored its first goal of the match to trail 3-1.
The Lady Highlanders maintained their 3-1 lead and defeated Andrews for the second time this season.
Up next
Murphy’s next match is on the road at Cherokee at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. The Dogs will then face Hayesville at home at 6 p.m. Monday.
Andrews will return to the pitch at 4 p.m. Thursday as they face Summit Charter on the road. The Cats will then face Swain County on the road at 6 p.m. Friday.