Murphy – For the first time this season, the Murphy boys varsity soccer team hosted in-county rivals Andrews on Oct. 2.
The Bulldogs (5-8) came out on top with the 4-0 win over the Wildcats (1-4-1).
The Dogs got to work early and scored all four of their goals in the first half. As well as all four of their goals coming in the first half, all four goals also came from Jerry Bui, who leads the team in goals with 10 this season.
The match got underway with back and forth play from both sides until just over halfway through the first half, when the Dogs broke through with the first goal of the game after a series of strong passes led to Bui finding the back of the net.
Just over three minutes later, Bui buried another one on a strong shot to give the Dogs a 2-0 lead. Bui got his hat trick goal just under five minutes later when he scored on a breakaway to give the Dogs a 3-0 lead.
With 2:46 remaining in the first half, Bui got his fourth score of the match to give the Dog a 4-0 lead, which they went on to maintain through the second half to win the match. The Wildcats had chances throughout the match, but could not put it together to get a goal against their in-county rivals.
Tri-County Early College (2-7-1) was in action the same day as the Jaguars traveled to Swain County (6-6-1) on Oct. 2. In their first game in nine days, the Jaguars came up just short as they lost 3-2 to the Maroon Devils on the road on Oct. 2.
The Jaguars scored one goal in the first half, but the Devils scored two. In the second half, the Jaguars got one back, but Swain also scored to secure the 3-2 win.
Tri-County’s goal scorers were sophomore Andrew White and senior Landen Spies. Spies also had an assist on White’s goal. Goalkeeper Julian Arvizu made 11 saves on 14 shots.
Tri-County’s next match is 6 p.m. today, when they head to Andrews to take on the Wildcats. At the same time today, the Bulldogs host Cherokee.
On Thursday, the Wildcats will head to Hayesville at 4 p.m., while Tri-County will take on Murphy at David Gentry Field at 6 p.m. Murphy will host Blue Ridge Early College at 6 p.m. Monday and, at the same time, Andrews will host Swain County as conference match ups ramp up.