BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County High School Lady Cardinals, coached by Steven Gauze, have started their soccer season strong with four impressive wins in early August.
On Aug. 4, the Lady Cardinals overwhelmed Pikeville with a 15-0 victory at home in Inez.
Faith Caldwell led the charge with four goals and four assists. Annaleigh Davis fired in three goals, while Jaz Jude contributed four goals and two assists.
Mia Preece sent in two goals and two assists and Hope Caldwell booted in two goals.
Emily Ledford scored a goal and one assist and Anna Hinkle sent one goal through the net. Jane Smith and Lexi Cline each added an assist.
The team traveled to Johnson Central on Aug. 9 to play in a panorama event. They defeated West Carter 2-0 in their first match of the day with goals from Davis and Jude. Ledford and H. Caldwell each recorded assists.
In their second matchup, the Lady Cardinals shut out Belfry 6-0.
F. Caldwell stayed hot and tallied four goals and one assist. Jude kicked one into the back of net and assisted twice. Davis helped two Cardinals teammates score goals. H. Caldwell scored once and assisted once.
Martin County wrapped up the panorama with a 2-1 victory over Ashland. Both Jude and F. Caldwell scored and assisted each other in the win.
Coach Steven Gauze said he feels confident about the team’s potential heading into the season.
“I’m looking forward to a good season,” Gauze said. “My eighth-grade players who won the conference are now freshmen. Add them with returning players, and we have a lot of talent on the team. Now, we have to learn to play together and work as a team if we are going to have a great season.”
He noted that youth can be both a strength and a challenge.
“We are still young, so you never know how the team will respond when things go wrong or if they will give up when we are down,” said Gauze. “Leadership will be very important, and my two captains — senior Emily Ledford and junior Faith Caldwell — have really stepped up. I hear them talking to the younger players all the time, helping them understand or encouraging them if they make a mistake.”
Gauze pointed to Saturday’s matchup against Ashland as proof of his squad’s determination.
“In the last game, we gave up our first goal with minutes left on the clock,” he said. “We could have easily run the clock out and left with a tie. To their credit, they never gave up and scored with seconds left on the clock. Shows me they want to win.”
The senior squad this year includes returning player and captain Emily Ledford. New additions include Tessa Gantt and Norway exchange student Maja Alm-Arnesen, who is rehabbing an injury.
The Cards will host Ashland on Aug. 14 before traveling to Lawrence County on Aug. 19.
Martin County took on Paintsville on Tuesday. Details were not available at press time.
