-
(Progress photo by Travis Dockery) Jared Welch battles for possession against SMC foe Swain.
The men’s varsity Yellow Jacket soccer team contniued it’s quest to be one of the elite programs in the Smoky Mountain Conference with three conference matches. Things didn’t start off on the right foot when Hayesville suffered a 2-1 road-loss to Blue Ridge Early College Monday, Sept. 30 . The Jackets bounced back in a big way Thursday, Oct. 3 with a 9-0 win on their home pitch over Cherokee. Winning ways continued Monday, Oct. 7 Hayesville hosted Swain County and were the 3-2 victors.
It was a showdown of two teams with a realistic shot of a conference title when the Jackets faced BREC. A low scoring affair, the Bobcats doubled up Hayesville with a 2-1 victory. Will Gordon scored the Jackets’ lone goal in the match.
Offense was not a problem for Hayesville against Cherokee. The Jackets lit up the net for six goals in the first half. Production slowed in the second half but Hayesville still managed to increase their lead by 3 to finish off the 9-0. Lee Anderson, Javier Bustamante, Mason Norris, Rylelan Snowden and Gordon all got in on the scoring.
Hayesville head coach Karen Dudley expected a good game against Swain and she wasn’t wrong. It was a back and fourth affair in the first half with the score being knotted up 2-2 at the break. In the second half, the Jackets were the only team to find the back of the net to seal the deal with a 3-2 victory.
The win gave Hayesville a half game lead in the SMC standings. Coming up for the Jackets is a home match against Murphy Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m.