In the penultimate week of the boys soccer regular season, all three Cherokee County varsity teams were in action. Andrews took to the pitch twice and came away with a pair of big wins, while Murphy and Tri-County Early College had one game each.
In the four local games, county teams saw three different opponents from the Smoky Mountain Conference as the regular season winds down. Bracketing for the state playoffs is Thursday; teams will play their first-round match Monday.
Andrews
The Wildcats had a big week as they defeated both Highlands and Summit Charter. With the two wins, Andrews is riding a three-game win streak.
Andrews (5-7-1) kicked off a two-game week at home against the second-place team in the conference, Highlands (8-7-1), on Oct. 20. The Cats defeated the Highlanders 2-1 to hand them their second conference loss of the season.
Andrews’ first goal was scored by Ethan Barton. Their second goal and game-winner was scored by Levi Clark as the Cats defeated the Highlanders 2-1.
The Wildcats were back in action for their final road game of the season as they traveled to Cashiers to face Summit Charter on Oct. 22. The Cats made it three wins in a row with a 1-0 defeat of the Bears.
The lone goal in the match was scored by Gabe Clark in the first half. The Wildcats played strong defense, as the Cats earned the win for their fifth of the season.
Andrews will be back in action on home turf against Blue Ridge Early College in the final match of the regular season at 6:30 p.m. today.
Murphy
The Bulldogs (12-3-1) played its lone game of the week on the road against Summit Charter (7-5). They faced the third-place team in the Smoky Mountain Conference on Oct. 20 and got a 3-0 win for their 12th shutout of the season.
Andrew White found the back of the net to give the Dogs a 1-0 lead in the first half. In the second half, they extended their lead courtesy of goals from Tyler Payne and Abram Twiggs to give them the 3-0 score when time expired.
The Dogs will return home for their final regular-season match against Hayesville at 6 p.m. today.
Tri-County Early College
The Jaguars (0-12-1) kicked off their week on Oct. 22, when they traveled to Blue Ridge Early College (7-6-1) to start a four-game slate of away games.
The Blue Ridge Early College Bobcats scored the first goal in the first half to take a 1-0 at halftime.
In the second half, the Bobcats added three more despite a goal from the Jaguars. Tri-County’s goal was scored by Finlay Ross for his second of the season. The Bobcats held onto the 4-1 to get the win.
Tri-County Early College wrapped up their season on the road at Swain County on Tuesday after the Cherokee Scout’s press deadline. Coverage will be in the Nov. 5 edition of the Scout.