It was a winning week for both the Murphy and Tri-County Early College girls soccer teams. Tri-County picked up its first win of the season when the Jaguars defeated Blue Ridge Early College. Murphy also defeated Blue Ridge Early College earlier in the week.
Both teams also faced Hayesville. Murphy got the win and Tri-County tied with the Lady Yellow Jackets.
Murphy
The Lady Bulldogs had a two-game week against Smoky Mountain Conference opponents. With the end of the regular season quickly approaching, each conference games is more important.
They started their week by traveling to Cashiers to take on Blue Ridge Early College. The Lady Dogs got the win in 70 minutes – 10 minutes less than regulation time – after they scored their ninth goal of the match.
With the win, they improved to 8-1 in the SMC, only trailing rivals Swain County.
It was a big goal scoring night for the Lady Dogs as they scored nine goals on 25 shots on goal. Their nine goals came from five different players.
Brooklyn Johnson and Haile Hill had three goals each. This was Hill’s fourth straight conference game with a hat trick.
Kaydence Walton, Deserae Zenobi and Ella Ledford had one goal each. Walton also had two assists.
Along with the hat trick, Hill also had an assist. Isabel Parker, Emma Elliot, Riley Johnston and Faith Lescalleet had an assist each.
Leading the team is steals was Tina Bui with nine. Lescalleet had six steals and Ledford and Hill had five each.
Lady Bulldogs goalkeeper Ella Howard notched another clean sheet. With the win over Blue Ridge Early College, Howard earned her seventh shutout of the season.
The Lady Bulldogs earned their ninth shutout of the season Thursday, when they defeated Hayesville 8-0. Howard earned her eighth clean sheet this season with the win.
Zenobi got the scoring started for the Lady Dogs 11 minutes into the match. Four minutes later, Brooklyn Johnson made it 2-0. With eight minutes left in the first half, Zenobi scored her second goal of the match and gave the Lady Dogs a 3-0 lead heading into halftime.
Eight minutes into the second half, Hill scored her first goal of the match. Nine minutes later she scored her second goal to give the Lady Dogs a 5-0 lead. Less than a minute later they made it 6-0 as Ella Ledford scored.
With eight minutes left in the match, Tyra Nelson scored to make it 7-0. Two minutes later, the Lady Dogs scored their eighth and final goal of the match as Hill netted the hat trick.
Walton and Lescalleet lead the team in steals with nine each. Hill had eight steals, and Isabel Parker and Nelson had eight each.
Up next for the Lady Dogs is a trip to Swain County as the top two teams in the conference face off in a must-win situation for Murphy. They will kick off at 6 p.m. Thursday. They will then return home Monday to face Highlands at 6 p.m. on senior night.
Tri-County Early College
The Jaguars of Tri-County also had a two-game week against SMC opponents as they faced Blue Ridge Early College and Hayesville.
First up for the Jaguars was Hayesville as they traveled to Clay County to face the Yellow Jackets on April 22.
After falling to Hayesville in their first meeting on March 13, they ended in a draw this time around. Both teams notched goals to end in a 1-1 tie.
On April 23, the Lady Jaguars earned their first win of the season. They defeated Blue Ridge Early College 4-0. All four of their goals came in the first half and then they fought off Blue Ridge to earn the victory. This was their first win since April 22, 2024 when they defeated Hayesville.
Up next for the Lady Jaguars, they will take on two more conference opponents to wrap up the season. First, they will play their last home game against Highlands at 6 p.m. Thursday. On Monday, they will travel to take on Cherokee at 4 p.m. to conclude their regular season.