The Lady Owls soccer team played the season opener on the road at Upperman on Tuesday August 15, 2023. The game got off to a slow start as everyone was finding their space and rhythm. Nine minutes into the match Briley Grisham passed to Aubrey Felice who quickly took it to the net for the first of her three goals for a natural hat trick, she would get assists from Chloe Gill and another from Grisham.
The Lady Owls defense played well and the middle was strong and kept the ball at the feet of the forwards. The fourth goal came from an attempt from Grisham that was finished by Kacie Chiapperini for her first high school goal. Briley Grisham however would be score from a pass by Addie Cripps a few minutes later. Two minutes later Brooklyn Sensabaugh would set up Aubree Spain for Spain’s first high school goal.As the seconds ticked off the first half Grisham would pass to Addie Cripps who scored to finish the half. Smith County 7, Upperman 0.
The second half saw Senior Brooklyn Sensabaugh score and then within three minutes. Kacie Chiapperini would finish it with the ninth goal, which invoked the mercy rule with 27 minutes left on the half.
On Friday August 18 the Lady Owls hosted Greenbrier for the home opener. The game has a late start due to traffic for Greenbrier. It was a very physical game that tested every position but the Lady Owls showed up and continued to get better. It only took six minutes for Aubrey Felice to kick off the scoring with an assist from Aubree Spain, another six minutes and Felice would score again, this time with the assist going to to Freshman Goalkeeper Catie Belle McCarter. With 11 minutes left in the half Greenbrier did manage to slip a goal through making it 2-1 Lady Owls.
With less than 5 minutes left on the clock Felice would meet with a pass from Addie Cripps to score her second hat trick on the season. Halftime score was Smith County 3, Greenbrier 1.
The second half saw a goal from Briley Grisham with assist from Aubree Spain who would also assist Brooklyn Sensabaugh with the last goal of the game. Smith County won 5-1 and stayed undefeated.
The next game will be the District opener at home vs Cannon County. Then the weekend will be the Smokey Mountain Cup in Gatlinburg. (photos and article submitted by Vivian Schaffers) 
