On October 18th Smith County Lady Owls hosted Independence Academy for the Regional Semi Final. It was the coldest game of the season and it seemed to be felt by both sides. It only took two and a half minutes for Aubrey Felice to connect with Senior Chelsae Litton who carried the ball down to the box and sent a solid shot past a defender and the keeper for the first score of the game. A minute later Independence answered, making the game 1-1. Three minutes later Brianna Solomon sent the ball up to Chelsae Litton who passed across to Kiley Jenkins who was coming up the outside. Jenkins shot, the keeper bobbled the ball and Jenkins finished it off bringing Smith County once more into the lead at 2-1.
As the second half started it continued to get colder, but the teams got warmer. The speed of play went from slow motion to intense. At the 29:27-mark Gracie Hendry won the ball to the corner and handed off to Aubrey Felice. Felice sent it across to once again connect with Chelsae Litton who sent it into the back of the net. Less than two minutes later Aubrey Felice passed to Brianna Solomon, who then fed the ball back to her as she flew to the net, covered by three defenders and sent the ball past the keeper for her contribution to a now 4-1 game. With 25 minutes left in the game, Independence found their way to the SC net. Senior Keeper Eden Daniel had amazing saves this game but this one found the top corner and was not going to be one. A minute later Independence was awarded a free kick in which they once again found the top corner and even with a valiant effort of Keeper Daniel, the score was now 4-3. The Lady Owls still had the lead but needed to ensure the win. So, at 22:45 a shot was sent on the Independence goal by Gracie Green, the keeper batted it down in front. Brianna Solomon saved it to shoot it in over the foot of a defender directly in front of the keeper and scored. At 15:43 Gracie Green carries the ball down the field, passes to Brianna Solomon at the corner. Solomon shoots from the outside. The Keeper catches it, it goes through her gloves and nutmegs her to roll into the net giving Solomon her second goal, making the score 6-3 in favor of the Lady Owls. Neither side let up and with less than a minute there was a corner kick that Independence thought they could clear, Gracie Green kept it in their end. Three defenders were headed to secure the ball, but Brianna Solomon came in and sent it into the back corner giving her a hat trick all in the last quarter of the game. Smith County won with a score of 7-3.
On October 20th the Regional Championship was played at Merrol Hyde where the Lady hawks hosted the Smith County Lady Owls. Going in the Lady Owls knew that Merrol Hyde was the defending State Champions and they had been mercy ruling competitors in the first half of their games. Many teams would step on the pitch already prepared to lose. The Lady Hawks scored three goals early, but Smith County seemed to decide it was not over. The half ended with a score of 4-0. After the break, even though Smith County had played hard in the first, they had a renewed fire. Lady Owl Senior Keep, Eden Daniel was stopping everything that came her way. The midfield was foiling attempts by the Lady Hawks to set up plays and the front was methodically pushing to find a weak spot. At the 28-minute mark, Aubrey Felice scored for Smith County, it was more than a goal it was a statement. This team had come through a challenging season of injuries and scrapping with much bigger teams for everything they had earned to this point. So, to score at Merrol Hyde was a small win. The Lady Owls went back to work, holding the Lady Hawks until the last 10 minutes of the game when they would score the fifth goal but only the first of the half. They would score again with less than a minute to go. Merrol Hyde won 6-1 over Smith County but they had to earn it all. Smith County were awarded Regional runner up.
On October 22nd Smith County Lady Owls traveled to Chattanooga to face CSAS in the Sectional game. The Lady Owls would fall to CSAS 7-0 to end their season. This game was full of emotion and challenges that just couldn’t be sidestepped. This team gave everything they had and then some. This season we watched players find confidence, some found strength, and they all found how to mentor, support, dig deep and be #OneTeam. We say goodbye to our Seniors: Brianna Solomon, Chelsae Litton, Eden Daniel, Gracie Green, Wendy Tolentino, Kenzie Keen, and Ciara Jackson. We could not be prouder of each of them and thank them for the legacy they leave with us. Thank you to everyone who supported this team, you are huge in the growth and success of this program. (article submitted by Vivian Schaffers) 
