The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats soccer team picked up their second district win and second shutout with a 5-0 victory over Karns at home on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016. Pictured above are Oak Ridge freshman Muskaan Vohra (23) and Karns freshman Haley Rayfield (19). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The young Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats soccer team picked up its second district win and second shutout with a 5-0 victory over Karns at home on Tuesday.
The Lady Wildcats (4-1, 2-0 District 3-AAA) outshot Karns 29-4. Freshman Katie O’Brien scored two of Oak Ridge’s five goals.
Oak Ridge opened the regular season with an 11-0 win at Anderson County on Tuesday, August 16.
The Lady Wildcats have eight freshman listed on the roster of 20 players. Four of the eight started this past Tuesday. Oak Ridge Coach Jeff Trombly said the young team is struggling with consistency.
“It’s a work in progress,” Trombly said, after the girls’ first regular-season home game.
He said the team played too casually Tuesday. Younger players often have a harder time playing consistently, Trombly said.
Among the players the Lady Wildcats lost after last season were five seniors: forward Macy Barclay, midfielders Ellie Brown and Alex Allen, defender Katie Welsh, and goalkeeper Jasmine Rizk.
This year, Oak Ridge has four seniors, Olivia Hoyt, Nancy Pont Briant, Lindsey Riikola, and Leah Scudder. The team has three juniors, although one is injured: Katie Roach, Alex Rouse, and Zoe Van Hook. And the Lady Wildcats have four sophomores: Kelsie Giannelli, Kate Hausladen, Savannah Johns, and Laura Snyder, who has been playing goalkeeper.
The largest number of players in any class are the eight freshman: Tori Eacott, Katie O’Brien, Maddie Peters, Jennie Pont Briant, Ashlynn Riikola, E.G. Scott, Veda Seay, and Muskaan Zohra.
Trombly said the team is still solidifying and settling into positions. Snyder started at goalkeeper for the Lady Wildcats on Tuesday, and Scudder, who did not play forward last year, moved up front.
Scoring for Oak Ridge against the Lady Beavers (3-1, 1-1) were:
- Hausladen with a header on a cross from Ashlynn Riikola in the 28th minute,
- Scudder with an assist by Van Hook in the 29th minute,
- O’Brien on a penalty kick into the top of the net in the 55th minute,
- O’Brien on a corner kick that curved left into the net from the left side of the field in the 62nd minute, and
- Seay on a line drive into the net in the 74th minute after Karns senior goalkeeper Taylor Elrod made a stop but wasn’t able to control the rebound.
Oak Ridge played three highly competitive teams in the Smoky Mountain Cup last weekend. They beat Cookeville, a Class AAA team that made it to the state tournament last year, 5-3 on Saturday, and they defeated Catholic, a Class A-AA team that was state champions two years ago, 6-3 in a “real battle,” Trombly said.
But they lost 4-1 to Father Ryan, a Division II team from Nashville, on Friday. Father Ryan is a very good, senior-heavy team, Trombly said.
The Lady Wildcats don’t play again until Tuesday, August 30, when they play at Halls at 6 p.m.
Their next home game is at 6 p.m. Wednesday, August 30, against Science Hill. You can see the season schedule here.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Oak Ridge sophomore Kate Hausladen (20), pictured above, scored first for the Lady Wildcats with a header on a cross from freshman Ashlynn Riikola during a 5-0 win over Karns at home on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Oak Ridge senior Olivia Hoyt (18) evades one defender, Karns freshman Sarah Roberts (36), and looks for a pass during a 5-0 win over Karns at home on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Oak Ridge junior Zoe Van Hook (17), who had one assist and at least nine of the Lady Wildcats’ 29 shots, is pictured above with Karns senior Alyssa Kral (4) during a 5-0 win for the Lady Wildcats over the Lady Beavers at home on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Oak Ridge freshman Katie O’Brien (25) scored twice during a 5-0 win over Karns at home on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016. One goal was on the penalty kick pictured above, and the second was on a corner kick. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
See more photos here.
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