POWELL—The Oak Ridge soccer team won the district championship with a 1-0 victory at Powell on Thursday.
It was the first time the Wildcats have won the District 3-AAA soccer championship since 2017.
Marvin Media-Jovel scored the one goal for the Wildcats in the 52nd minute on Thursday, getting the ball around a Powell defender on the left side of the net and kicking it into the right side.
Oak Ridge coach Tom Gorman said the first half was back-and-forth between the Wildcats and Panthers, but he was concerned because Powell had better scoring opportunities. But Oak Ridge weathered the storm, settled down in the second half, and played better, Gorman said.
Next, the Wildcats will play the loser of the Friday evening game between Hardin Valley and Farragut at home on Tuesday. That Region 2-AAA semifinal game is an elimination game, meaning the season will be over for the loser, and it is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Oak Ridge Pro2Serve Soccer Complex.
Powell will travel to play at the winner of the Hardin Valley-Farragut game (the District 4-AAA championship game) on Tuesday.
Gorman said he is proud of his team, which did not have a pre-season because of COVID-19. He also gave credit to the back line, the defense and goalkeeper, for generally not allowing more than one or two goals per game this season and for its shutouts this season. The back line and goalkeeper include Asa Lee, Dylan Duke, Alex Matamoros, Zeke Vanatta, and Bryson Brown.
Oak Ridge had advanced to the district championship game on Thursday with a 5-0 win over Campbell County in a district semifinal game on Monday. Powell had advanced with a 3-0 win over Karns on Tuesday.
Oak Ridge and Powell met once during the regular season this year, and the Panthers won that game 1-0 on April 22.
