Oak Ridge soccer falls to Knox Central 6-2 in district match
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats had a tough week on the soccer pitch, which ended on a sour note Thursday in the Fountain City community of North Knoxville.
The Lady Wildcats faced defending District 3-AAA champion Knox Central and left Dan Y. Boring Stadium with a 6-2 loss Thursday night.
“That loss was really disappointing,” Oak Ridge Coach Trenna Underwood said after watching her team fall to 6-4 overall and 2-1 in district play.
“I really felt like we had the better team, but the better team doesn’t always win,” she said.
“We got down 3-0 at halftime, and it’s tough to overcome that, but we came out after halftime and scored two goals,” the coach said.
“We definitely had the opportunity to score four more, but we didn’t.”
The Lady Bobcats (8-2-1, 2-1) capitalized on two Oak Ridge mistakes, and Underwood said Central Coach Chris Quinn had a clear game plan.
“He definitely had a tactical plan,” Underwood said. “Everything was over the top.
“Then we had some other things go wrong, and frustration set in,”he said.
After halftime, the Lady Wildcats pulled within a goal at 3-2 as Hayven Lauendine and Lilah Kim helped Oak Ridge get back into the match.
But Central scored two more goals.
“Our keeper dropped the ball into the net, and then they made a penalty kick,” Underwood said.
“This was an eye-opener for us. We came back, had a good practice on Friday, and we talked.”
On Tuesday, Sept. 17, Oak Ridge lost 2-0 to Science Hill.
The Lady Wildcats hosted Powell on Tuesday, but results were not available at press time. Oak Ridge plays Campbell County on Thursday.
“The Powell game is a must-win for us, and then we have Campbell County,” Underwood said. “Hopefully, we can win that game and end the week on a high note.”