Lady Wildcats begin tourney as No. 2 seed
The Oak Ridge High School Lady Wildcats bid farewell to their talented senior class last Thursday — as well as Head Coach Donnie Green, who is leaving ORHS to guide the Roane State soccer fortunes.
And on Thursday night, the Oak Ridge High School girls soccer team honored a senior class that has re-establish its winning tradition.
But the Lady Wildcats honored another person at their senior night ceremonies — a person who’s also leaving the program at season’s end, Head Coach Donnie Green.
Green announced during the offseason that the 2023 season would be his last at the helm at Oak Ridge. He is leaving to become the coach at Roane State Community College.
So, the Lady Wildcats honored their coach.
“We honored our seniors and another person was honored,” Green said. “It caught me off guard and surprised me. They honored me and I wasn’t expecting it.
“It was emotional and there might’ve been some tears shed. I was an honorary senior. It was my 4-0 last senior night at the high school level.”
As for the match, it was the Lady Wildcats’ District 3-AAA finale, and they took care of business against Campbell County, claiming a 9-0 victory over the Lady Cougars.
Aniya Fisher completed a hat trick early as she scored the first three goals of the match.
Brooklyn Henderson picked up assists on the game’s first two markers.
Mia Wiest assisted Fisher’s third goal.
Lera Lee gave the Lady Wildcats (11-2-1 overall, 4-1 in the district) a 4-0 lead with an unassisted tally.
Lilah Kim had a goal and an assist against Campbell County.
Hayven Laurendine scored twice before Wiest and Henderson closed out the scoring and ended the match early due to the TSSAA mercy rule.
Oak Ridge completed its regular season Tuesday with a match at Anderson County. Results were not available
The District 3-AAA Tournament opens Saturday.
Top-seeded Knox Central and the Lady Wildcats each have an opening-round bye. Oak Ridge is the tournament’s No. 2 seed.
Both Central and Oak Ridge will begin their postseason runs Tuesday night.
In Saturday’s quarterfinals, No. 3 Powell will host Campbell County, and No. 4 Knoxville Halls will host Karns.