Murphy – After 100 minutes of soccer on May 10, the score remained the same as it was when the game started between Murphy and Blue Ridge Early College.
Both teams had some decent opportunities, but neither could put the ball in the back of the net. Still, it was enough for the Lady Bulldogs to stay in third place in the Smoky Mountain Conference, which was as high as they could finish entering the final week of the regular season.
“I thought we did pretty good,” head coach Kim Brownlee said. “We moved the ball. Blue Ridge, you have to give them credit, they played a tough defensive game. They really had us working.”
The game was a battle on both ends. The Lady Bobcats (5-10-2 overall, 4-7-1 conference) were able to get some good runs from Vanessa Russell and Mercedes McLaughlin, while Murphy’s (7-6-2, 6-5-1) best opportunities came on crosses from Lailee Holloway that landed in the box but didn’t get the good final touch. It didn’t help the Lady Bulldogs that center back Kinsley Campbell left in the second half with a foot injury, forcing Brownlee to move attacking midfielder Catalina Barreiro back to defense, which took some punch out of Murphy’s offense.
Blue Ridge controlled the run of play in the opening minutes, and their best chance all night came in the fourth minute, when Russell’s shot hit the left post before being corralled by goalie Emma Ledford. Murphy started to control the run of play later in the half, which set the tone for the second half.
Brownlee made some tactical changes in the second half, having Holloway get the ball out to the left side of the field before crossing it into the middle. The plays were there if a run on the ball was made, but the Lady Bulldogs couldn’t get there.
Murphy’s best chances in the second half came in the 67th minute, when Holloway had a break-away and was chased down. A few seconds later, she sent a ball from near midfield to Brooklyn Johnson, who was called offsides.
“I thought the second half we started moving the ball a little bit better, Brownlee said. “We started designing more of those crossing plays, where we could attack it from the far post and in the central areas. We were looking for certain styles of attack. We worked hard on trying to implement it, just couldn’t get it in the net like we wanted.”
The first extra period was quiet, and both teams had some runs with potential but whiffed when it got close. Murphy as the No. 24 seed qualified for the state playoffs and made the 265-mile trek to No. 9 seed South Davidson (9-6-2) late Monday. Brownlee was realistic about her team’s chances, but wanted a team with nine freshman to get postseason experience.