Murphy beats Andrews, Tri-County falls to Swain in final game of regular season
Murphy – The Murphy Bulldogs defeated Andrews Wildcats to conclude their regular season. The Dogs (11-8-1) won 3-2 over the Cats (5-8-1) on Oct. 28, as both teams now await where they will be seeded in the state playoffs.
Also on Monday, Tri-County Early College (2-14-1) lost to Swain County (10-7-1) 3-1.
In their penultimate game of the regular season, the Bulldogs hosted Tri-County and the Dogs won 5-0 to extend their win streak to three matches on Oct. 23.
The first half started with chances from both teams and a lot of back and forth action. With 7:04 remaining in the first half, the Dogs struck first after Jerry Bui picked up a rebound and buried it in the goal.
As the first half was winding down, the Dogs began to control possession. The Jaguars moved the ball downfield late in the half, but were unable to score.
The beginning of the second half was slow, but then the Dogs scored a barrage of goals to open the game up. About 14 minutes into the half, Tyler Payne dribbled through defenders and knocked it in to give the Dogs a 2-0 lead.
Four minutes later, Payne got his second of the game after he picked up a rebound from a Bui free kick. His goal extended the Dogs’ lead to 3-0. Less than a minute after that, Payne got his hat trick goal as he got another rebound following another Bui free kick.
Less than two minutes after Payne got his hat trick, Bui scored his second of the match on a 25-yard free kick that went over Tri-County goalkeeper Julian Arvizu’s outstretched hands for his 22nd goal of the season to give the Dogs a secure 5-0 lead.
The score stayed at 5-0 despite a few late chances from Tri-County. The Dogs are now 2-0 against in-county rivals Tri-County in the regular season.
Also last week for the Dogs, they kicked off their week with a 2-1 win against Hayesville (8-6) on Oct. 21.
Also last week for Tri-County, they started their week with a loss to Smoky Mountain Conference leaders Highlands (11-6-1) 4-0 on Oct. 21. The day after their loss to Murphy, they hosted Hayesville and lost 1-0 in a late goal by the Yellow Jackets. They concluded their regular season with a loss to Swain County 3-1 on Monday.
The Andrews Wildcats also had a buy week last week. They started the week with a 4-3 win over Blue Ridge Early College (7-9-1) on Oct. 21, which was their second straight win against them. The Cats then fell at home to Hayesville 6-0 on Oct. 23.
Seeding for the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A soccer playoffs is Thursday, Nov. 7, with the first-round matches to begin Saturday, Nov. 9.