Lady Wildcats drop one to Powell, but still in the hunt for title
Oak Ridge High School girls soccer Coach Donnie Green couldn’t hide his frustration after the Lady Wildcats dropped a 2-1 District 3-AAA match at Powell Friday night.
The loss to the Lady Panthers snapped a seven-match winning streak, and also marked the end of a string of seven consecutive shutouts for the Lady Wildcats.
A win over Powell combined with a win over Knoxville Central later this week would’ve clinched a regular-season district title for the Lady Wildcats.
The Lady Wildcats host the unbeaten Lady Bobcats Thursday at 7 p.m. Oak Ridge must defeat Central by two goals to win the championship.
“I know that we were the better team than Powell, but I give Powell credit because that is their place and they don’t want to lose there,” Green said. “Last year, we beat them at our place and they were the better team.
“We really struggle on their field. It’s grass, but it plays like a turf field. We have problems on turf, and that one plays like turf because the grass is cut so short.”
Further complicating things for Oak Ridge (8-1-1 overall, 2-1 in the district) was that it failed to find an accurate shooting touch.
“We were all over the goal,” Green said. “We did everything but put the ball in the back of the net.
“Our kids played hard, but we hit the crossbar three times and hit the post twice.”
Oak Ridge’s lone marker of the night came from Lilah Kim. It was assisted by Hayven Laurendine.
On Tuesday, Sept. 12, the Lady Wildcats notched a 5-0 victory over Karns.
Kim scored twice and Brooklyn Henderson chipped in with a goal and two assists. Laurendine and Aniya Fisher also scored against the Lady Beavers.
