By Michael Lindsay
A Region 4A soccer championship wasn’t in the cards for Smith County Thursday evening as they fell at defending state champion Merrol Hyde, 6-1.
Merrol Hyde (16-2-1) hadn’t given up a goal since Sept. 22 until the Lady Owls (12-5-1) found the back of the net in the second half of Thursday’s matchup.
The Lady Hawks opened with 4 first-half goals against Smith County, including 2 in the first 10 minutes.
Facing a 4-0 deficit, Smith County sophomore Aubrey Felice outran the Lady Hawk defense and beat the Merrol Hyde keeper 1-on-1 for a goal with 28:07 remaining to cut their lead to 4-1.
From there, Merrol Hyde scored twice more to make the final score 6-1, delivering the Lady Hawks their 6th consecutive region title dating back to 2017.
Despite the loss, Smith County has automatically qualified for Saturday’s Class A Sectional with a TSSAA state tournament berth on the line. The Lady Owls will play at Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences (CSAS) on Saturday, time TBD.
