The highest of highs and the lowest of lows
Over the past few games, the Oak Ridge High School girls soccer team has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
The low point came Thursday night when the Lady Wildcats were routed by Knoxville Central, 8-1, at Dan Y. Boring Stadium in Fountain City.
That loss came after Oak Ridge notched a 2-0 victory over Christian Academy of Knoxville on Tuesday, Sept. 20.
Before defeating the Lady Warriors, the Lady Wildcats defeated defending District 3-AAA tournament champion Powell 3-1 on Thursday, Sept. 15.
“Seven days after we played our best game of the season, we played our worst game of the year,” Oak Ridge Coach Donnie Green said. “(Lady Bobcats’ coach) Bill (Mize) told me that was the best game that his team had played in HIGHEST several years.
“They played their best game of the year when we played our worst game. They scored one goal and that just opened the flood gates,”
The Lady Wildcats’ lone marker of the match came from Hayven Laurendine, who tallied in the 18th minute.
The loss to Central continued a negative trend for Oak Ridge (7-5 overall, 3-2 in the district). The Lady Wildcats have lost every match they’ve played artificial turf in 2022. Conversely, Central has lost all its matches played on grass.
“We’ve lost all of our games on turf. We do not play well on turf,” Green said. “When I talked to Bill he said they had lost all their games on grass.
“We did not play well but I give Central a lot of credit because they didn’t play well. There’s always a reason you don’t play well and they just wouldn’t let us.”
Against the Lady Warriors early last week, the Lady Wildcats outshot the Lady Warriors, 25-4.
“We struggled to find the back of the net against CAK and that was really frustrating,” Green said.
Laurendine and scored while Aniya Fisher had a goal and an assist for Oak Ridge.
