The Motlow State Community College women’s soccer team took another step towards the first TCCAA/Region VII regular season championship with a dominating 5-0 victory over Dyersburg State Saturday in Dyersburg.
Motlow (3-0, 7-2-2) has now won four consecutive games and has not lost in its previous seven contests. The Lady Bucks host a rematch with Dyersburg State Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. at Smyrna High School, then welcome non-conference opponent Gordon State Monday at 4 p.m. at Shelbyville Central High School.
The TCCAA/Region VII Tournament will be held Oct. 26-27 at St. Benedict High School in Memphis. The tournament winner will advance to the NJCAA Central District tournament, scheduled for Nov. 1-2 at the home field of the Region 24 champion.
Sophomore Tyler Feaster got the scoring started for the Lady Bucks as they built a 3-0 halftime lead against Dyersburg. Feaster scored at the 12-minute mark on an assist from Keely Smith, assisted Emily Vallejo on a goal two minutes later, and then scored her second goal at the 18-minute mark. Paige Loveless assisted on both second half goals, including one by Smith with two minutes remaining.
Motlow was dominant in all phases of the contest, out-shooting the Lady Eagles 21-6 and holding an 11-0 edge in corner kicks. Emily Bryant and Ashley Woods split time as goal keeper, with each playing a half and only needing to make one save apiece thanks to Motlow’s smothering defense.
Vallejo, a freshman from Nashville, is currently second in the TCCAA with seven goals and 16 points on the season, while Feaster is third in both with six and 15 respectively. Motlow’s April Gillespie leads the league with six assists, and Woods is the top goal keeper with a 0.96 goals-against average and a .857 save percentage.
As a team the Lady Bucks are dominating the conference statistics. Motlow has 33 goals with the next closest at 19, 95 points with the runner up at 52, and the Lady Bucks have outscored their conference opponents 10-1 in their three TCCAA wins.
