While McMinn County girls soccer coach Brittany Hart was in labor giving birth to her first child Thursday night, the Cherokee players were in high gear earning a 2-0 road win against Soddy Daisy for the District 5 3AAA championship.
Sophomore Kylie Murphy scored the first goal in the 32nd minute, while teammate Morgan Hutchison found the back of the Trojan goal two minutes later as the Cherokees led 2-0 at intermission.
The Trojans came out aggressive in the second half and had several chances to score, but were turned away by McMinn County goalie Alexis Hudson (six saves in the final 40 minutes) and a backline led by Cabrina Pascarella, Makena Giles and Kaitlyn McKinney.
“I believe the key to our win was a fantastic group of seniors who have played together for a long time and led the way tonight,” said assistant coach Duane Rikard.
The Last Time …: McMinn County’s last district title came in 2013 when these seniors were freshman … and Soddy Daisy was last shutout in a district match in 2014 by McMinn County.
“Kudos to McMinn County as they came out fast in the first half and outplayed us and we dug ourselves a hole allowing those two goals,” said Soddy Daisy coach Moises Drumond.
“At halftime, I challenged our players to be more aggressive and they came out strong, we had plenty of good scoring opportunities, but could not get the ball in the goal.”
Road Warriors: No.3 seed McMinn County beat No.2 Walker Valley, 3-2, on the road Tuesday and now stops No.1 seed and host Soddy Daisy for the championship.
Region Semifinals – Tues. Oct. 18 .. Warren County at McMinn County ... Soddy Daisy at Cookeville … Region Final is Thurs. Oct 22
McMinn County 2, Soddy Daisy 0
McM 2 – 0 –2
SD 0 – 0 – 0
Records: Soddy Daisy (15-3-1, 7-1-0) McMinn Co. (10-9-1, 4-3-0)
Stats:
Goals: McM, 2-0
Shots: McM, 20-16
Saves: McM, 8-5
SD – Bailey Coyner (5), Alexis Hudson (8)
Corners: McM, 3-0
Fouls: McM, 8-5
Free Kicks: SD, 8-5
Hand Balls: SD, 2-0
Yellow Cards: 1-1
Offsides: SD, 1-0
District 5 AAA Awards Girls Soccer 2016
2nd Team All District
Mary Claire Shaffer Cleveland
Jessica Pearlman Ooltewah
Reagan Harrold Bradley
Meghan Gallups East Hamilton
Elexus Gable McMinn County
Isabel Swafford Walker Valley
Amy Rasmussen Soddy Daisy
1st Team All District
Lauren Stutzman Cleveland
Olivia Tawzer Ooltewah
Anna Stouffer Bradley
Arielle Fortune East Hamilton
Abie Adamson East Hamilton
BreAnna Gable McMinn County
Makena Giles McMinn County
Taylor Ellis Walker Valley
Jade Mayo Walker Valley
Kendall Harris Walker Valley
Carly Pifer Soddy Daisy
Bailey Coyner Soddy Daisy
Summer Ghaffari Soddy Daisy
District Defensive MVP Soddy Daisy Anna Lanter
District Midfield MVP Walker Valley Mya Patel
District Offensive MVP McMinn County Morgan Hutchison