Lady Wildcats take gut-wrenching loss, then beat Webb
The 2023 high school girls soccer season is barely a week old and Oak Ridge’s girls team has already experienced the full spectrum of emotions.
The Lady Wildcats (1-1) opened the season with a much-anticipated home match against Maryville on Tuesday, Aug. 15, and they let one get away.
ORHS had a 3-0 lead late in the match only to see the Lady Rebels and Taylor Hoag score three goals over the final seven-and-a-half minutes to come back and salvage a 3-3 draw.
“That was so disappointing and frustrating,” Oak Ridge Coach Donnie Green said.
The Lady Wildcats lost the services of starting goalkeeper Marleigh Frazier, a freshman, as she was kicked in the back of the head after making a save late in the opening half.
She left the match and didn’t return, giving way to netminder Grace Phillips.
“Grace did a good job, but if I had my starting keeper in the game, we win that game,” Green said. “If we have our starter in the goal, we win 3-0 or 3-1 at worst. When she went out, that really deflated us.”
Green credited his back line for a solid effort, but noted that the Lady Wildcats had some problems in the middle of the field.
“We really struggled,” he said.
Offensively, ORHS took control early.
The Lady Wildcats wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as they took a 1-0 lead when Aniya Fisher found the back of the Lady Rebels’ net in the ninth minute of the contest. Lilah Kim was credited with an assist on the first marker of the match.
Fisher, who finished the game with a pair of goals and an assist, dished out a helper when Brooklyn Henderson tallied early in the second half. Henderson made the score 2-0 in the 45th minute. Fisher made it 3-0 approximately four minutes later when she tallied an unassisted marker.
Hoag scored for Maryville i the 74th and 77th minutes, before completing her hat trick in the 79th minute.
Things took an upward turn for the Lady Wildcats when they returned to the pitch Thursday night. Oak Ridge notched a 2-1 victory over Webb School of Knoxville.
“My kids really responded,” Green said. “Webb is a good team.
“I was talking to Steve Feather, the Maryville coach, and he said that, other than Bearden, Webb and West are two of the best teams in the area. We all know how good Bearden is, and Webb beat Maryville 5-0 in the preseason.”
Against the Lady Spartans, Noel Norstedt tallied in the 12th minute. Fisher picked up her third marker of the season in the 60th minute off an assist from Henderson.
Oak Ridge traveled to Knoxville to face Grace Christian Academy but results were not available at press time.
The Lady Wildcats play at Hardin Valley Academy Thursday. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.