Lady Dragons finally get a chance to take to the pitch
After a pair of cancellations, the Clinton High School girls soccer team was finally able to begin its season last week, and the Lady Dragons split two matches.
Clinton opened District 4-AA play Thursday night and fell to Gibbs 2-0 at Ernest Whited Stadium in Corryton. Clinton recorded a 2-0 win over Oliver Springs at home on Tuesday, Aug. 22.
“The game against Oliver Springs wasn’t supposed to be our first game, but it was because two teams had canceled on us,” Lady Dragons Coach Suzanne Stout said.
In its late beginning to the 2023 campaign, Clinton got off to a slow start. But the Lady Dragons manufactured enough offense to defeat the Lady Bobcats.
“We started out a little shaky, but we really came together as a team, and overall, that was a pretty good game for us,” Stout said.
The Lady Dragons (1-1 overall, 0-1 in District 4-AA) got goals from senior midfielder Elly Leander and Ashley Gaetz. Gaetz tallied on a penalty kick against Oliver Springs.
In their league opener, the Lady Dragons dropped a 4-0 decision to the Lady Eagles. But even in defeat, Clinton proved that it would be a force to be reckoned with in the district that features Gibbs (which moved over from District 3-AA and is always a state tournament contender); Anderson County; Scott; Union County; and the Lady Dragons.
“Clinton is going to surprise some people in the district,” Gibbs Coach Jason French said, despite seeing his side record a clean sheet in the match. “I was really impressed with Clinton. We’ve changed districts and we hadn’t played them in a while. They’ve really improved.
“I was really impressed with their senior midfielder, Elly Leander,” he said. “I have a freshman, Kylie Musto, and her job was to contain Leander, and she did a great job. She’s a freshman but she did a great job against a senior with a lot of talent and experience.
“We’ve played a tough schedule, and this was really a must-win for us.”
Gibbs (1-2-1, 1-0) got goals from three seniors as Lizzie Blackstock tallied twice while Natalie Teague and Karleigh Dean added single markers for the Lady Eagles.
Clinton hosted Sequoyah Tuesday night but results were not available at press time. The Lady Dragons travel to Pigeon Forge Thursday with kickoff slated for 6:30 p.m.