Above and beyond lofty expectations
Lady Wildcat soccer set a new standard with postseason play
THE 2022-23 LADY WILDCAT SOCCER TEAM
The 2022 campaign came to an end for the Lady Wildcats recently in the District 3-AAA Tournament semifinals.
Oak Ridge lost to top-seeded West High School in Knoxville on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at Bill Wilson Field.
The Lady Wildcats, the tournament’s No. 4 seed, certainly didn’t make things easy for the Lady Rebels, who went on to win the district title with a victory over Powell late last week.
Oak Ridge dropped a 2-1 decision in extra time after playing the Lady Rebels to a standstill over the first 40 minutes as the teams were locked in a scoreless tie at halftime.
The Lady Wildcats broke the scoreless deadlock when Lilah Kim tallied in the 76th minute.
West would rally to tie the game approximately two minutes later. The Lady Rebels scored the eventual game-winner in the seventh minute of overtime.
Some tactical changes by Green helped the Lady Wildcats make things difficult for West, which claimed the district title with a 5-1 win over Powell on Thursday.
“I took the girls out of their comfort zone, but they executed it,” Green said. “Nobody in our district had been able to stop them all year and I told the girls that if we kept them at 0-0 at halftime, we would have a chance.
“I switched to a 1-4-4-1 and moved my center forward, Aniya Fisher, back and made her a sweeper. She was my last line of defense. I knew that she could play the position because I put her back there last year.”
West had dominated the Lady Wildcats in their last three meetings. The Lady Rebels outscored Oak Ridge 18-0 in the previous games before last week, notching a 5-0 win in August.
“Going back to 2021, they beat us 6-0 in the regular season,” Green said. “Then they beat us 7-0 in the district semifinals and this year, we lost 5-0.”
The Lady Wildcats concluded their 2022 campaign going 11-7, exceeding the second-year head coach’s expectations.
“I’m really proud of the girls,” Green said. “Last year, we had a young team and we went 5-8-2. This year, we had a younger team and we went 11-7.
“If you had to lose, you want to go down like this,” he said. “The girls fought hard. ... They have exceeded my expectations.”