BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

It was a challenging week for the Martin County Middle School girls soccer team as the Lady Cardinals dropped a pair of matches against Belfry and Lawrence County.

Martin County opened the week on the road April 7 at Belfry Middle School, marking the program’s first trip to face the Pirates. The Lady Cardinals showed promise early, creating several scoring chances in a scoreless first half.

Belfry took control after halftime, capitalizing on defensive miscues to pull away for a 4-1 victory.

Aubree Muncy accounted for Martin County’s lone goal and Maddie Fletcher was credited with the assist.

Lady Cards returned to action Thursday against Lawrence County and turned in an improved performance. Muncy once again led the offense, scoring late in the first half off an assist from Alivia Stacy to give Martin County a 1-0 lead at the break.

Despite the strong start, second-half struggles proved costly. Lawrence County took advantage of mistakes to score twice and hand the Lady Cardinals a narrow 2-1 loss.

Martin County continues to lean on a young roster still developing.

“We are young and most are still trying to learn the skills to be competitive players,” Martin County head coach Steven Gauze said. “Hopefully by the end of the season we can make improvements and learn to be more consistent.”

The Lady Cards were scheduled to play Adams on April 14. The team will travel to Ashland on April 20.