Martin County Middle School Lady Cards soccer team was on the road last week with two big district matchups.
On Tuesday, they traveled to Johnson Central for a battle that could decide the top seed for the District.
The first half of the game saw Martin County on defense as they struggled to clear the ball the entire first half. Unfortunately, this led to a 5-0 halftime lead for the Lady Eagles.
The second half saw the Lady Cards calm down and play better defense. The better play led to several goal-scoring opportunities for the Lady Cards, but they could not score. The game ended with a final score of 6-0 for Johnson Central and the Lady Cards’ first loss of the season.
There was very little time to recuperate from the loss as the Lady Cards were back on the road two days later at Adams Middle School. The first match went down to the final PK shot to decide a winner.
Early in the first half, the Blackcats broke through the defense to give them the early 1-0 lead. Martin County quickly responded with a goal by Faith Caldwell to tie the game 1-1. A penalty by Adams led to a second goal for Faith and a 2-1 lead. Jazlynn Jude made it 3-1, scoring on a corner kick for the Lady Cards.
Adams wasn’t finished yet, scoring a late goal to keep it close 3-2 at the half.
The Lady Cards offense was on a roll in the second half. Faith added two more, Annaleigh Davis added two of her own, and Kailynn Maynard added one to end the game with an 8-3 win for Martin County.
District play ended with a tie between Martin County and Johnson County Middle School. Due to tie break rules, Johnson County had the advantage on goal difference giving the Lady Cards District runner-up.
“So proud of this team, win or lose,” Martin County coach Steven Gauze said. “If you have watched us play, we are small, but they play with everything they have to win. The loss to JC was a true test for the team. They were very disappointed in the way they played, and it was their first loss of the season. I told them, ‘We shut down and finish district play with a loss, or you can accept it, work hard to fix your mistakes, and come out hard against Adams.’ Happy to say it was our best game all season.”
Regular season for middle school still has one week left. Martin County will be on the road against East Carter Tuesday and finish the season at home Thursday against Boyd County.