The Smith County Lady Owls Soccer Team – District 7A Runner Up
On Tuesday, October 15th, postseason play started for the Lady Owls Soccer team. The District tournament this year was hosted by Watertown High School.
The Semi-finals were held on Tuesday with Watertown taking on York Institute and Smith County taking on Cannon County. York beat Watertown 3-1 and would move on to the Championship game on Thursday. The Smith County Lady Owls played Cannon County for their chance to move forward. Halfway through the first half, a series of passes led to Senior Kaytlin Patterson attacking the net head on and scoring the first goal of the game. Cannon County came with a will to win but Smith County had the majority of possession, making clean passes and a strong defense. With 8 seconds left in the first half Biz Davis sent the ball up to the foot of Kaytlin Patterson who drew the goalie out and sent the ball flying by her for the second goal and game-winner. The second half the Lady Owls would challenge the net many times but the game ended with a Smith County team moving on with a final score of 2-0.
Thursday, October 17th the district championship game would see Smith County meeting up with long-time rival York Institute. What a night! The game started 30 minutes late due to a time confusion with the refs. The weather was frigid which caused an issue with the balls being a bit deflated. Once that was sorted it was clear both teams showed up to win. The first half was full of battles but with seven minutes left in the half, Lizzie Harper won the ball at the sideline, midfield, sending a beautifully placed pass to Kaytlin Patterson who quickly worked her way through three attacking defenders and challenging the net head-on. Score! The first goal of the game belonged to the Lady Owls. The half continued with a back and forth, six seconds left in the half, York earned a corner kick and fought hard to get it in the net but the Lady Owls Goalkeeper, Anna Vining, was able to draw it in and make the save. Halftime gave us a score of 1-0 in Smith County’s favor.
Coming back for the second half one would think the play would be on the slower side with as cold as it was but the pitch was just getting heated up. Both teams were on fire. Both teams had girls go down in battle, there were clock issues, and surprisingly there were no cards handed out. With just short of seven minutes left in the half, York earned a corner. The ball was sent in, then sent to the net where a pile-up occurred trying to defend but the ball made its way in which tied the game. This is when it got real. Both sides ramped up play to get that one winning goal. Smith County wanted that third consecutive district title and just as badly York wanted to take down the defending champions. The half would end still tied. The teams fought through not one but two overtimes and then faced off in a shootout. Each team gets five penalty kicks and the team with the most successes wins. York took the first shot, score. Smith County sent in Lizzie Harper, score. 2-2 York, score. Smith County sends Brennan Rigsby, almost but stopped at the line. 2-3 York, score. Lady Owl Biz Davis who was playing through an injury from the game shoots and goes just wide by inches. 2-4 York shoots, miss. Lady Owl Kaytlin Patterson shoots and is stopped. York wins 2-4.
York Lady Dragons become the District Champions. Smith County Lady Owls receive District Runner Up and end with an overall record of 14-2. Smith County Head Coach Nicholus Bussell receives District Coach of the Year. Kaytlin Patterson is District MVP. Lady Owls who were recognized for first-team honors were Mallory Dillon, Anna Vining, Biz Davis, and Brennan Rigsby. Second team honors went to, Allexis West and Jaynada Wallace. In this writer’s opinion, there were not enough awards because this team is loaded with talent and has a continued bright future.
Region play starts with Semi-finals on Tuesday, October 22nd at 7 PM. East Robertson will travel to York and Smith County will travel to Merrol Hyde.
Head Coach Nicholus Bussell receives District Coach of the Year award.
These Lady Owls were awarded first and second-team honors. Pictured is: Coach Lisa Reece, Jaynada Wallace, Anna Vining, Mallory Dillon, District MVP Kaytlin Patterson, Brennan Rigsby, Biz Davis, Allexis West, Coach Kit Jenkins, and Head Coach Nicholus Bussell.
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