BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION — With a massive slate of area games still ahead of them, the Smiths Station High School (7A) girls and boys soccer teams took time to celebrate senior night against Valley High School (5A) on April 6.
The matchups made for ideal celebrations as the Lady Panthers (13-6-1) defeated the Lady Rams (2-8) in a 15-0 win that game officials called at halftime, and the Panthers (13-6-1) used several brilliant individual efforts to take down the Rams (4-7-1) 5-2.
Girls game
The Lady Panthers got off to a rip-roaring start to senior night and never looked back, with SSHS’s three seniors all getting on the stat sheet.
Captain and star forward Haley Ciccarello led the charge with three goals and four assists, and Marlee Cook and Haleigh Jones added two goals and a goal and an assist, respectively.
While he admitted he’ll sorely miss the trio’s individual abilities, SSHS girls’ head coach Dennis Jones said the chance to honor their contributions was worth inevitably having to replace them.
“They’re going to be hard to replace, we’re really going to be hurting whenever we don’t have those girls next year,” Jones said. “We really wanted all three to score tonight. It made tonight really special, and then just being able to spend time with each other. They really enjoyed it, and I think they had a good time.”
Several underclassmen also shone for the Lady Panthers, with freshman Reagan Thomas notching two goals and two assists.
Sophomore Reagan Riles contributed two goals — including a highlight reel header — and an assist, and classmates Montana Phillip and Sophie Fowler both added a goal apiece.
Boys game
Despite a lightning-quick start for the Panthers, the boys’ game proved much more competitive. However, in a similar fashion to the girls’ game, the bulk of SSHS’s offensive output came from
Senior forward Cameron Wood struck twice for the Panthers with a goal in the opening minutes of both halves, and classmates Haagan Philip and Jacob Junghans both added a goal apiece in the final minutes of the second half.
Although he was pleased with how the night turned out for his seven seniors, SSHS boys’ head coach Mike Ward said his team needed to quickly refocus for a playoff push. With
“It’s all about [the kids], and I’m happy for them, but I’m focused on the season and trying our best to make the playoffs,” Ward said. “From a coaching standpoint, these things are kind of a distraction because I really want them to focus on the mission. It’s a good win because [Valley is] a good team, but we’ve got to keep focusing on doing the right things. That’s the biggest thing.”
Sophomore forward Owen Jamieson also scored a goal of his own minutes before halftime.
Jacob Martinez and Jose Diaz scored goals near the halfway point of each half for the Rams, respectively.
