Murphy – Murphy’s women’s soccer team stayed busy last week going undefeated during their three-game week. The Lady Bulldogs picked up important Smoky Mountain Conference wins over Hayesville and Blue Ridge Early College, and also tied with a tough Union County, Ga., opponent.
To kick off the week, the Lady Dogs hosted Hayesville on March 17. In the game that only lasted one half, Murphy shut down the Yellow Jackets by scoring nine goals in the first 40-minute half, and the game ended at halftime.
About 4:51 seconds into the game, Leah Beebe struck first for the Lady Dogs as she found the lower left corner and swiftly shot it past Hayesville’s goalkeeper to give them a 1-0 lead. About 1:09 later, Brooklyn Johnson found the back of the net after Halie Hill crossed it into the box.
A little under nine minutes later, Ella Ledford got her first of the night after she rebounded the ball following a corner kick to give Murphy a 3-0 lead.
Over the next roughly 12 minutes, Hill scored four goals to further extend Murphy’s lead. Her first came with 21:20 left in the first half as she knocked one in from the middle of the box to give Murphy a 4-0 lead.
Her next goal came less than a minute later after she got a steal, then found the back of the net. After about nine scoreless minutes, Deserae Zenobi crossed the ball into the middle and Hill netted her hat-trick goal.
Hill’s fourth goal came with 9:38 left on a penalty kick after Hayesville got a handball in the box.
Murphy led 7-0 until Ledford hit one high and over the keeper for her second goal of the game to give the Lady Dogs a 8-0 lead with 3:22 left.
Just under a minute later, Beebe notched her second goal of the game when she scored from just outside the box to give the Lady Dogs a 9-0 lead.
The game ended when the clock expired at the end of the first half. If you lead by nine goals at any point in the second half, the game ends.
Lady Bulldogs’ goalkeeper Ella Howard earned her first clean sheet of the season with the 9-0 win over Hayesville. In her win in net, she made one save on one shot on goal.
Along with her four goals, Hill also had one assist and 10 steals. Ledford, as well as her two goals, had three steals. Beebe also had two goals and one steal.
Johnson had one goal, two assists and four steals. Ella Conley had eight steals, Isabel Parker had seven, Tina Bui had six and Kaydence Walton had five.
Head coach Kim Brownlee was also able to play the whole team so that everyone got playing time against Hayesville.
The following day, the Lady Dogs hosted tough competition from Union County, Ga.
In their first ever match in Murphy, the Lady Dogs tied with the Lady Panthers on March 18.
Howard earned her second straight clean sheet in the draw against Union County and faced nine shots on goal from the Lady Panthers squad of players who mostly play club soccer.
Parker led the team in steals with seven. Hill had seven steals, while Coleman and Tyra Nelson had six steals each. Addison Peterson had five steals.
With the 0-0 draw, the Lady Dogs’ record moves to 2-2-1.
To wrap up their three-game week, the Lady Dogs hosted Blue Ridge Early College in their third conference game of the season, looking to improve to 3-0 in the conference.
Murphy defeated Blue Ridge 9-0 on Friday night by piling on goals.
Hill led the team with her second four-goal game of the week. Johnson also had her first hat trick of the season with three goals Friday night. Parker and Beebe also scored a goal each in the win.
Howard notched her third straight clean sheet in the 9-0 win.
Along with a goal, Parker had 15 steals. Bui also had double digit steals with 10. Nelson had nine steals, Coleman had eight, Walton had seven, Hill had seven, Conley had six, Zenobi had six and Johnson had six.
The Lady Dogs will face rivals Highlands on the road at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. They will then play host to Cherokee at 6 p.m. Monday. And at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Murphy will travel to Union County, Ga.