Oak Ridge won the District 3-AAA girls soccer championship with a 1-0 victory over Powell at Oak Ridge High School on Thursday.
It was the first time the Lady Wildcats have won the district championship since 2016. The Lady Panthers won the title in 2015—the first-ever district title for the Powell girls—and again in 2017 and 2018.
Seniors on this year’s Oak Ridge team were freshmen the last time the Lady Wildcats won the district title. Oak Ridge and Powell have played for the district championship five years in a row.
On Thursday, Oak Ridge senior Katie O’Brien scored the winning goal on a breakaway after a pass from junior Katelyn Mattus in the center of the field in the 53rd minute. O’Brien, who has committed to play soccer at Maryville College, got behind the Powell defense, came into the center, and shot the ball into the left side of the net, Oak Ridge Coach Tom Gorman said.
Powell was “fired up” early in the second half, applying offensive pressure to Oak Ridge. The Lady Wildcats tried to “weather the storm” in the first five to 10 minutes of the second half, Gorman said. The O’Brien goal “opened up” the game for Oak Ridge, he said.
“We played an 80-minute game,” Gorman said. “I’m just proud for them.”
Oak Ridge also defeated Powell 2-1 in overtime during the regular season, the first victory for the Lady Wildcats against Powell since the 2016 district championship.
Oak Ridge, the District 3 champion, will play Maryville, the District 4 runner-up, in a Region 2-AAA semifinal elimination game at the Pro2Serve Oak Ridge Soccer Complex on Tuesday. That game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
Oak Ridge played Maryville in its last regular-season game on Thursday, October 10, and the Lady Wildcats lost 3-1.
The Lady Rebels lost 1-0 to Hardin Valley in the District 4 championship game at Maryville on Thursday.
Hardin Valley, the District 4 champion, will host Powell, the District 3 runner-up, in the other Region 2 semifinal game on Tuesday.
Oak Ridge players were honored with awards in District 3. Lady Wildcats senior Maddie Peters was named most valuable player, O’Brien was named attacking player of the year, and seniors Rachael Brewer and Jennie Pont Briant were both named first team all-district. Oak Ridge junior Izzy Wang was named co-defender of the year.
Also named to the first team in District 3 were Mattus, Oak Ridge juniors Taylor Del Toro and Lilah Brown, and sophomore Jaiden Weston.
Named to the second team were Sade Lee and juniors Sami Jaffery, Sarah Hammons, and Alyssa Tittsworth.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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