Murphy – New Murphy High School head soccer coach Andrew Zenobi knows he took this job with the Bulldogs already in a good position.
It’s a team led by a robust sophomore class who played a lot as freshman and were part of Murphy Middle School’s first ever boys soccer team. They know how to play together, have some good size and athleticism, and were taught fundamentals by previous coaches.
“I can’t take credit for that,” Zenobi said. “That’s coach (Justin) Butler and coach (Kim) Brownlee before me. Really just coming into this job, I’m going to look good no matter what.”
Three games in, Murphy (1-1-1 overall, 1-0-1 Smoky Mountain Conference) has already shown progress from last year. They fell to 3A school Pisgah 6-1 to open the season on Aug. 30, which was a 9-0 mercy rule loss last year.
The Bulldogs then tied Swain County 1-1 on Sept. 4. Last year Murphy lost to Swain twice, 4-1 and 9-4.
Two days later against Cherokee (0-1-1, 0-1-1), the Bulldogs dominated the Braves 10-1, ending the game by mercy rule with four minutes and 17 seconds left. Murphy beat the Braves twice last year, but only 3-1 in both games.
Zenobi has changed to a more aggressive style, trying to control the game by attacking on offense rather than sitting back and playing defense and waiting to spring counterattacks. That means more runs and offensive buildup, with one play leading to the next instead of trying to beat somebody one on one.
That adjustment worked against Cherokee. Zenobi said the Braves didn’t apply pressure as high up the field as their first two opponents, but he thought the Bulldogs did a good job of keeping the ball moving.
“That’s kind of a trap sometimes, when you want to pass more when you’re not getting a high press, it makes us want to dribble a little bit more,” Zenobi said. “So I was proud of our guys making that change even from Monday, where we’re looking for the passing option first rather than the dribble.”
Murphy dominated possession, especially in the first half. They peppered Braves goalie Jonathon Escobar with a few shots early, then broke through with a goal by Grant Copeman with 24:46 remaining in the first half. The junior didn’t get a lot of playing time last year but has impressed Zenobi with his tenacity.
Another goal came two minutes later, when Tyler Payne sent a pass through to Samuel Lewis. Escobar initially saved it before Lewis put away the rebound. Payne controlled the Bulldogs’ offense out as an attacking midfielder, and set up Lewis again for Murphy’s third goal with 10:35 left in the half.
This time, he dribbled along the right side of the field near the goal, then passed the ball to the left to Lewis for the easy finish. Lewis finished off a first-half hat trick by cleaning up the rebound on a Jerry Bui free kick that hit the post before Bui then scored on a free kick from 40 yards out.
Kaden Stephens put Cherokee on the board by converting a penalty kick with 24:46 left in the first half, but Murphy answered with goals from Hayden Blanton and Nathan Johnson just minutes apart. Then Abram Twiggs and Bui added long-range goals, and Payne found the back of the net to end the game.
Murphy will travel to defending conference champion Highlands on Thursday and played at Blue Ridge on Monday. It’ll be a test to see just how much Murphy has improved against the top two teams in the conference last year; the Bulldogs lost the five games they played against those two teams last year by a combined score of 35-4.
“There’s still work to do,” Zenobi said. “It’s a very athletic team. That’s not something you generally expect from a 1A school playing soccer, a football school. I’m blessed in that. They’re just naturally going to get better, and it’s just my job to guide them.”