The Murphy boys soccer team faced a tough week and took on Highlands and Summit Charter, two teams that accounted for two of the Bulldogs’ three Smoky Mountain Conference losses last season.
The Dogs came out on top and defeated both teams, maintaining their undefeated record in the conference so far this season. They notched back-to-back shutouts with a goal differential of +11.
To start the week, they conquered Highlands 8-0. Then they defeated Summit Charter 3-0.
The Dogs (5-2-1) kicked off their two-game week against Highlands (2-6) on Sept. 15.
A little less than 10 minutes into the match, Murphy found the back of the net. Andrew White was all alone with the keeper after the ball slipped past the defender and scored.
With about 19 minutes left in the first half, Tyler Payne was fouled in the goalkeeper’s box. On the penalty kick, he drilled it past the Highlands keeper to give Murphy a 2-0 lead.
With 1:04 left in the first half, Abram Twiggs took a throw in and found his brother, Elijah, right in from of the keeper. He scored to give the Dogs a 3-0 lead.
With 22:35 left in the second half, Elijah Twiggs scored again on a throw in. The ball rolled into the net after being kicked, despite a Highlands defender sliding to try and prevent the goal.
With 10:19 left, White found the back of the net again with a breakaway goal that found the left wing and scored to give the Dogs a 5-0 lead. To give the Dogs a 6-0 lead with 6:52 remaining, Cylus Sullivan scored his first career goal.
About a minute later, Murphy took a 7-0 lead on a Highlands own goal. With 39 seconds remaining in the match, Zander Floyd found the back of the net to give the Dogs an 8-0 lead.
After their win over Highlands, Bulldogs head coach Andrew Zenobi said it felt good to get the win over the defending conference champions. It felt good because until last season, Murphy had not beaten Highlands in boys varsity soccer competition.
Zenobi added that even though they got the big win, it’s just another game for them. They will continue to prepare for whichever team they face next.
On Sept. 17, the Dogs returned home to face Summit Charter (3-2). Murphy earned another conference win when they defeated the Bears 3-0.
Payne opened the scoring for the Dogs as he found the back of the net from the top of the box 14 minutes into the match.
With 1.2 seconds left in the first half, Payne took a free kick. On the free kick, Nathan Johnson headed the ball to score and give the Dogs a 2-0 lead at halftime.
To start the second half, Summit Charter switched their goalies.
With 19:28 left in the second half, Payne was fouled in the box. The foul resulted in a penalty kick for Payne and a yellow card for Summit Charter.
On the penalty kick, Payne found the back of the net to give the Dogs a 3-0 lead. Both teams battled in the back-and-forth, highly physical match.
After the match, Zenobi said goalkeeping and defense has been important in the Dogs’ recent wins.
“It is truly a pleasure getting to coach players like Elijah Twiggs, Cale Harger and Keaten Ritz … You’re just lucky as a coach to have players like this,” Zenobi said.
He added that defensive midfielders Aaron Harger and Abram Twiggs have been important too in supporting their backline.
With the win, the Dogs have five consecutive wins with all of them being shutouts. In that five-game win streak, four of those have been Smoky Mountain Conference opponents.
The Dogs are the only undefeated conference team and have scored the most goals both in and out of SMC play.
So far this season, they have only allowed six goals. Summit Charter has also only allowed six goals, but Murphy has played double the matches.
Tri-County
The Jaguars of Tri-County Early College (0-5) played their first match in 10 days when they faced Hayesville (3-2-1) on Sept. 18.
Hayesville got a 5-0 win as the Jaguars suffered their fourth straight loss.
Up next
At 6 p.m. today, Murphy will host Blue Ridge Early College. Tri-County will host Andrews at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Tri-County Early College will host Swain County at 6 p.m. Monday, while Murphy will travel to Hayesville at 4 p.m. and Andrews will travel to Blue Ridge Early College at 4 p.m.