By COOPER BROCK and JUSTIN KANE
The girls soccer team brought the barrel back to Boone, sort of.
On Dec. 6, the girls took on rival Edgewater at home, and won 3-0. It was the annual breast cancer game and they play for a mini pink and white barrel.
“It was a scrappy game,” girls coach William King said. “The ladies didn’t play particularly well but they did compose themselves enough to get the job done.”
The money raised from tickets, concessions and a portion of the advertisement sales for the game went towards breast cancer research.
Sophomore Kayla Combs, freshman Rachel Bridewell and junior Brandi Recker each scored a goal.
“[Scoring a goal] felt really good, my adrenaline was rushing through my veins,” Recker said. “It was exciting. I was very happy.”
On Nov. 15, the girls faced the Oak Ridge Pioneers and ended the game on mercy rule 10 minutes before the end of the second half. The official blew his whistle and called the game, 8-0.
“The victory boosted our morale because we proved to ourselves that working together leads to a win,” senior Logan Graves said. She had 26 saves that night.
Sophomore Alexandra Clayton, in her second year as a starting forward, scored the three first goals within the first 10 minutes of the game.
“[Soccer] is the only thing that makes complete sense to me. When I’m on the field, nothing else matters,” Clayton said.
The following day, the girls suffered a heavy loss to Bishop Moore, 0-6. Clayton also received a head injury, confining her to a head brace for the rest of the season.
“Bishop Moore was one of our worst games,” Clayton said. “They are very tactically skilled, and that night we lacked communication. Late in the game, I went for a header off a punt from our keeper and snapped my head into an opposing defender’s, whose head started bleeding.”
With the district competition only weeks away, King keeps a modest prediction about the teams ability in the postseason.
“We will have a tough first round game, but the ladies are capable of beating anybody while playing to their ability,” King said.
The next and last home game will be on Jan. 4, against Olympia. After that the girls play four straight road games heading into the district tournament.
Graves is optimistic about their chances in the postseason.
“I expect the team to go very, very far,” Graves said. “This is my fourth year on the team, and I’ve never seen our girls’ varsity do as well as they are this season.”