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(Travis Dockery • Clay County Progress) Lee Anderson races through a gap in Blue Ridge’s defense.
The varsity Yellow Jacket soccer team is having a memorabe season to say the least. Hayesville improved its win total in the latest Smoky Mountain Conference matches. On Wednesday, Oct. 16 the Jackets successfully defended their home pitch against Murphy by the final of 4-0. Hayesville then played their final home match of the regular season against Blue Ridge Early College Monday, Oct. 21. After a late-match scare, the Jackets’ defense came up big, securing a 3-2 victory. With the win, Hayesville improved to 6-1 and at press time was ranked eighth in the 1A state rankings.
Against Murphy, the Jackets ‘ offense exploded in the first half and by the halftime break, Hayesville led the Bulldogs 3-0. In the second half, the Yellow Jacket defense continued to control Murphy to keep them away from the net. On offense, Hayesville netted another goal to make the score 4-0 which would be the final.
It was a different story Monday against Blue Ridge Early College. The Jackets scored first but it didn’t take long for the Bobcats to even things up 1-1 before the half. Following the break, Hayesville wasted no time in reclaiming the lead with a quick goal. A few minutes later another Jacket goal made it seem that Hayesville was going to cruise to another win. No one told that to the Bobcats and with just a few minutes left on the clock, BREC slipped a shot into the net to make the score 3-2. The goal electrified the Bobcats and they started attacking the ball. Blue Ridge pushed towards Hayesville’s goal several times in the closing minute but the Jackets’ defense shut them down to get the 3-2 win.
Hayesville now hits the homestretch of their season with their final three regular-season matches. The Jackets will travel to Cherokee Thursday, Oct. 24 for a 4 p.m. match against the Braves. On Monday the team will head to Bryson City where they will take on the Maroon Devils at 6 p.m. In their season finale, the Jackets will head to Highlands to try to head into the playoffs with a win. Start time for the match is set for 6 p.m.