Murphy, Tri-County Early College suffer tough losses
Boys soccer kicked off the 2025 fall high school sports season on Aug. 11, when Murphy and Tri-County Early College took the pitch.
The Bulldogs hosted Smoky Mountain, while the Jaguars hit the road to play Pisgah.
Murphy, now competing in the 2A classification, hosted 5A Smoky Mountain in its home opener and fell 1-0 in a hard-fought match. Meanwhile, Tri-County – still in the 1A classification – hit the road and played 4A Pisgah.
In Murphy’s home opener, the Dogs fell 1-0.
It was a deadlocked first half as the team went into halftime tied 0-0. In the second half, Smoky Mountain scored the lone goal of the game. They held the lead until the end of the match.
The Dogs will look ahead to their next game at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27, when they host Pisgah. With a win over Tri-County and tie against Chase, Pisgah is off to a 2-0-1 start.
Tri-County hit the road to take on Pisgah, a 4A school. Tri-County remains 1A after the reclassification took effect this school year.
The Jaguars’ lone goal of the match came in the first half, after Mason Smith found the back of the net for his first goal of the season.
Despite the goal in the first half, Pisgah scored three of their own to take a 3-1 lead to halftime. In the second half, Pisgah kept scoring to add on five second-half goals leading to their 8-1 win.
Jaguar goalkeeper Julian Arvizu made 12 saves in the match. He made 206 saves in 17 games last season.
Tri-County will have a few weeks off before its next match against Murphy at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 1, at Murphy High School, where both teams play home games.
The Jaguars will have two consecutive in-county matchups, as they play host to Andrews at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3.
The Wildcats boys soccer team have yet to start their season, but will do so at 6 p.m. Sept. 1 at home against Hayesville.
Up next
Murphy will return to action at home when the Bulldogs host Pisgah at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27. Tri-County’s next match is at 6 p.m. Sept. 1, when they take on Murphy.
Also on Sept. 1, the Andrews boys soccer team will debut as the Wildcats host Hayesville at 6 p.m. It will be their first game as solely a boys team and not co-ed, as it has been in some past years.