The Lady Devils soccer team hosted the Highlands Highlanders on Thursday in a critical conference matchup. Going into the game, the Lady Devils were in 1st place in the conference, one game ahead of the Highlanders. 13 minutes into the game the Highlanders would take a free kick from right outside the box. The kick would bounce off the crossbar and the Highlanders would get the rebound and finish with a goal. With 10 minutes left in the half, Freshman Karena Cline would send a long ball in front of Senior Mazie Helpman who would finish it with a goal. The game would remain tied 1-1 at the half.
Eight minutes into the second half the Highlanders would beat a few Lady Devil defenders, make a through ball pass through the back line, finishing with a goal. Three minutes later the Highlanders would find a hole in the Lady Devil defense scoring their third goal of the game. With 11 minutes left in the game, Freshman Sophie Matz would find Senior Kaylee Simmons with a long ball and Simmons would finish with a goal. The game would finish with the Highlanders taking the 3-2 win. “It definitely wasn’t our best game. We struggled at times with the temperature and we had two big injuries to two of our Senior starters.” said Coach Cline.
Defensively Sophomore Anna Gray and Senior Jadyn Perez led the way with 10 Steals/Clears each, followed by Freshman Sophie Matz with 7. In the game, Sophomore Emmie Fuller had 4 goalkeeper saves.
The Player of the Game for the Lady Devils was Senior Jadyn Perez. “Jadyn played a strong game defensively before she went down with her injury. She helped limit the number of shots on goals.” said Coach Cline. The Lady Devils and Highlanders are now tied for first place in the Smoky Mountain Conference.