Katie Cotten(on left in pink) & Rhoton(on right in pink) work in the midfield on Saturday against DeKalb County

The 14^th Annual Kicking Cancer Playday proved to be another success for the Coffee County Middle School soccer team on Saturday.  6 varsity teams and 7 JV teams did battle in a series of scrimmage halves.  At the end of the day, the Lady Raider varsity and JV teams each finished with a record of 1 and 1.

The varsity team opened the day with a 5 to 1 loss to conference foe Warren County.  The lone goal for the Lady Raiders was scored by Emma Rhoton off an assist from Katie Cotton.  In the afternoon’s game, Coffee County outshot DeKalb County 16 to 3 in a 4 to 0 whitewash.  Cotton scored a pair of goals as she gave Coffee Middle a 2 to 0 lead in the first 9 minutes.  Hannah Creal notched the 3^rd goal in the 23^rd minute off a deflected shot by Cotton.  Kelsey Brantley added a penalty kick in the 29^th minute as she finished with a goal and an assist. Kaylee Pratt finished with 3 saves as she finished with a clean slate.

The JV team defeated Thurman Francis 3 to 0 and lost to North Franklin 1 to 0.  The Lady Raiders open the regular season on Monday afternoon at 5:30 PM when they play host to Harris.

The fall prep sports season kicks into high gear this week as the majority of middle school and high school team sports open the season. After the middle school football teams opened their season last week, the middle school and high school soccer and volleyball teams open their season this week. The high school football team will kick off their season on Friday night at home while the CHS and CCMS cross country teams compete in their first meet on Saturday. Westwood’s cross country team opens their season on August 21st while the CHS golf team completes their 3rd week of the season on Thursday.

Monday’s Prep Schedule
1:00 PM – CHS Golf HOSTS Franklin Co/Tullahoma/Shelbyville
5:00 PM – CCMS Volleyball HOSTS Harris
5:00 PM – WMS Volleyball at North Franklin – PPD until August 22nd
5:30 PM – CCMS Girls’ Soccer HOSTS Harris
5:30 PM – CHS Football(JV) at Warren Co
5:30 PM – CHS Volleyball vs. Warren Co & Covenant Academy at Warren Co
7:00 PM – CHS Girls’ Soccer at Community

Tuesday’s Prep Schedule
5:00 PM – CCMS Football HOSTS Lake Forest
5:00 PM – WMS Volleyball at South Lincoln
5:30 PM – WMS Girls’ Soccer HOSTS Liberty – PPD until September

Wednesday’s Prep Schedule
6:00 PM – CHS Volleyball at Riverdale
6:00 PM – The Ryan Sulkowski Show at West Main Brick Oven – Thunder Radio broadcast

Thursday’s Prep Schedule
4:00 PM – CHS Golf at Tullahoma
4:30 PM – CCMS Volleyball HOSTS Westwood – 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series broadcast
4:30 PM – WMS Volleyball at Coffee Co – 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series broadcast
4:30 PM – WMS Girls’ Soccer at St. Andrew’s
5:00 PM – CCMS Girls’ Soccer vs. Warren Co
6:30 PM – CHS Volleyball at Shelbyville
6:30 PM – WMS Football at Eagleville
7:00 PM – CHS Girls’ Soccer HOSTS Franklin Co

Friday’s Prep Schedule
6:00 PM – CHS Football HOSTS Franklin Co – Thunder Radio broadcast

Saturday’s Prep Schedule
6:00 PM – CCMS Cross Country at Siegel Under the Stars Meet
7:00 PM – CHS Cross Country at Siegel Under the Stars Meet

The Nashville Sounds’ win streak reached 12 on Saturday night, as they held on and beat the Colorado Springs Sky Sox 3-2 at Security Service Field. Daniel Mengden tossed 6 1/3 innings, Anthony Garcia drove in all three runs, and Liam Hendriks logged another save. The Sounds have not trailed at any point in their last six games.

For the third time in the series, the Sounds took a quick lead. In the top of the first, Steve Lombardozzi and Dustin Fowler singled, and Garcia brought them home with a single for a 2-0 game. After Mengden yielded a run in the second, the Sounds answered in the third against Paolo Espino. Fowler tripled and then scored on Garcia’s two-out double. Fowler went 3-for-4 and has 20 multi-hit performances in 38 games as a Sound this season.

Mengden’s second run allowed scored in the sixth, and he left with one out in the seventh. He gave up two runs on just four hits in 6 1/3 innings in the win, his fourth quality start in his last five outings. Josh Lucas finished the seventh and worked the eighth, and Hendriks posted his 11^th consecutive scoreless outing by saving the game in the ninth.

The four-game series concludes Sunday afternoon when Jesus Luzardo (1-0, 0.00) makes his second start as a Sound. He’s scheduled to oppose Alec Asher (6-3, 5.25). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Then the Sounds return to First Tennessee Park on Monday night to begin a seven-game homestand.

The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41^st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

In the club’s first match at First Tennessee Park in August, Nashville SC dazzled the hometown crowd and earned a 2-0 victory over Ottawa Fury FC on Friday night.

Matt LaGrassa earned his first USL goal of the season and Brandon Allen netted a penalty kick to give Nashville its second-straight home victory. Matt Pickens earned his 10th clean sheet of the season, good for a tie for second place in the USL.

90 in a Nutshell

After the American and Canadian sides traded national anthems to start the match, the two teams traded chances in the opening minutes. Last match’s hero, Tucker Hume, had a solid chance off the bat but sent a kick wide. The teams traded corner kick opportunities after the 20’ minute, but both were cleared away.

In the 31’ minute, Nashville finally struck with a LaGrassa boot off an assist from Lebo Moloto. It was a picture-perfect pass and even better finish into an open corner of the net. Nashville SC kept the pressure on for the remainder of the half and had a few more chances to double the lead, but the half ended with a 1-0 lead for the home side.

Ottawa pressed a bit to start the second half, but Nashville withstood the Fury and started to move back up the field. Hume had another good opportunity from a corner kick but put it over the bar. In the 58’ minute, Hume kept it up and earned Nashville a penalty as he was knocked down in the box on an attempted header. Allen stepped up to take the penalty and buried it with a great strike close to the middle of the net to double Nashville’s lead. In the ensuing run of play, Matt Pickens made a lunging stop on an Ottawa chance from outside the box, leading to a Nashville breakaway. A game of cat and mouse in the box between Hume and Allen ended without a goal, however. Ottawa threatened once or twice more, but the foes from north of the border could not find the back of the net as Pickens earned another clean sheet en route to the win.

Goals

31’ NSH – Matt LaGrassa (Assisted by Lebo Moloto)

59’ NSH (PK) – Brandon Allen

Quotable

Defender Liam Doyle: “For me, I think we’re a top-four team. I think we’ve shown that for large periods, and we’ve had a couple of spells that have set us back a bit. I think now, we’re showing again that we’re solid, the goals are starting to come, we’re starting to create more, and if we can keep that hunger I think we’ve got to set our sights on the top four, get a home game and take it from there.”

Key Stat

Brandon Allen – Three shots on target. With the big body of Hume by his side up front, Allen was able to put pressure on all night and took four shots in total, three of which were on target. The forward with a nose for the net was able to threaten the Ottawa defense. His penalty kick in the second half sealed the deal for Nashville.

Lagrassa on the Board
The opening goal in the 31’ minute by Matt LaGrassa was his first in a USL game this season. The goal had been coming as LaGrassa had multiple near misses in recent games. LaGrassa had scored in his Nashville career in its U.S. Open Cup game against Louisville City FC.

Reversing the Result
After a disappointing 2-0 loss on the road to Ottawa in July, Nashville reversed the score at home. The win was important in the standings as Nashville and Ottawa both came into the game with 31 points. The win for Nashville jumped the club from 9th to 6th in the Eastern Conference.

Another Clean Sheet
With another clean sheet, keeper Matt Pickens earned his 10th shutout of the season. That total is tied for second in the USL amongst all keepers. He trails Pittsburgh’s Dan Lynd who has 11.

Home Fortress
Nashville SC wins at FTP are becoming common. Nashville has earned 23 of a possible 28 points (7-1-2) overall at home and 21 of 24 (7-1-0) at First Tennessee Park. Nashville’s home point pct. (.821) is the best in the USL’s Eastern Conference.

New Formation, Better Results
Nashville has shifted to a 3-5-2 in its last two matches in an attempt to jumpstart the offense. It has worked with Nashville scoring 3 goals in its last two games and earning a result in both.

Standings Update

The victory catapults Nashville SC to sixth place in the USL Eastern Conference standings, just one point behind New York Red Bulls II and five points behind Louisville City FC for the all-important fourth spot in the standings.

Up Next

With points picked up in consecutive matches, Nashville travels up I-65 next Saturday to take on Louisville City FC in the rubber match of the USL season series. That match will start at 6:30 PM CT.

Chris Bassitt logged seven strong innings, and Franklin Barreto homered for the second consecutive game and went 3-for-4 to lead the Nashville Sounds to their 11th consecutive victory and a 3-1 triumph over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox on Friday night at Security Service Field. The Sounds have not trailed at any point in their last five games, and they’re outscoring their opponents 64-30 during the 11-game win streak.

Bassitt twirled his second straight dominant outing. After tossing eight innings of one-run ball in his last start, he gave the Sounds seven innings of one-run ball Friday. He yielded four hits, walked one and fanned seven in the win, retiring 13 in a row at one point. Barreto led off the second with a long homer to left off Aaron Brooks to make it 1-0. Then Sheldon Neuse and BJ Boyd singled, and Neuse scored on a double play for a 2-0 lead.

After the Sky Sox managed a run in the second, the only other run of the contest came in the Sounds’ fifth. With outs and the bases empty, Steve Lombardozzi singled, and Dustin Fowler tripled for a 3-1 game. Danny Coulombe retired the side in the eighth replacing Bassitt, and Liam Hendriks struck out two and notched this third save in the ninth.

The four-game series continues Saturday night with Game 3. Daniel Mengden (3-1, 4.03) starts for the Sounds against Paolo Espino (3-3, 5.40) for the Sky Sox. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

A fast start and a stifling defense lifted the Westwood Rockets to a season opening win over Cannon County on Thursday night.  The Rockets rolled up 266 yards of offense in the first half against the overmatched Lions on their way to a 45 to 0 win.

The Rockets scored 6 touchdowns on their 6 offensive possessions in the first half.  Defensively, Westwood held Cannon County to 8 yards of offense in the first half and recovered 3 Lion fumbles.  With a running clock in the second half, the Westwood reserves held onto the ball for all 8 minutes of the 4^th quarter to seal the win.

Westwood was led in rushing by Konor Heaton who had 101 yards rushing on 6 carries with 3 touchdowns and a pair of 2 point conversions.  Ian Weldon ran for 73 yards on 3 carries while Chris Deal rushed 4 times for 50 yards.  Izick Sierra rushed 4 times for 40 yards and a TD plus added 3 PAT kicks for the Rockets.

Westwood will travel to Eagleville next Thursday as they open conference play against the Eagles.  The rockets return home on Thursday, August 23^rd when they welcome Forrest to Dyer-Bouldign Field.  Both games will kick off at 6:30 PM.