Lady Wildcats finish regular season with back-to-back shutouts
Oak Ridge wins 9-0 vs Carter; 2-0 at ACHS
Oak Ridge High School’s girls soccer team closed out the 2023 regular season with a pair of shutouts last week.
In their season finale, the Lady Wildcats won against Carter, 9-0, Thursday night at home. ORHS opened a 7-0 lead in the first half against the Lady Hornets, but Coach Donnie Green eased up a bit before halftime.
“I didn’t want to mercy rule them in the first half,” Green said. “Their coach thanked me for that and said that gave him a chance to get some of his young girls in and get them some playing time.”
Aniya Fisher, Hayven Laurendine and Noel Norstedt scored two goals each in the Carter match. Laurendine also had an assist.
Lilah Kim, Booklyn Henderson and Ayda Branson also scored for Oak Ridge (13-2-1).
Fisher, Norstedt and Abbey Pressley each dished out two assists, while Kim finished with one.
On Tuesday, Oct. 3, Oak Ridge traveled to Anderson County to renew its rivalry with the Lady Mavericks. The Lady Wildcats notched a 2-0 victory as Laurendine and Fisher both scored and Henderson picked up an assist.
“That was a really good game; (Anderson County coach) Chris (Curtin) has a good team and they have a great record,” Green said.
“Chris did a good job. He kind of bottled them up in the back, so I told the girls to take deep shots. If they couldn’t get it to feet, they could get it over their heads.
“Of course, we were on turf and we struggle on turf,” Green said. “That was a big win for us; anytime you beat Anderson County on their turf, it’s a good win. I would’ve taken a 1-0 win, but we got two.”
The Lady Mavericks finish the season with an 11-5-1 overall record. They won the District 4-AA regular-season title and only lost to Webb School of Knoxville, a solid Division II-AA side, and Class AAA teams such as Powell, Knoxville Halls, Knox Central and the Lady Wildcats.
“I think they’ll go far in (the Class) AA postseason,” Green said.
Both the Lady Wildcats and Lady Mavericks opened postseason play at home in their respective district tournaments.