The Motlow State Lady Bucks recently completed the first season of women’s soccer in school history by winning six of their final eight contests and finishing with an 8-7-1 record. First row, from left: Kinsli Houck, Anastasia Wellington, Alex Ragan-Laye, Ali Shelton, Tyler Feaster, Angela Molina and Megan Blumhoefer. Second row from left: Bailee Walls, Calli Simmons, Natalie Feaster, Lena Alakabi, Kayla Moultry, Shelby Grow and Bethany Porter. Back row from left: Hannah Feaster, Zach Crownover, assistant coach; Rebekah Duross, Emily Bryant, Keely Smith, Andy Lyon, head coach; and Paige Loveless. [Motlow State Photo]
Motlow (8-7-1) outscored the opposition in those final six contests by a combined 26-3. After a 2-5-1 start to the season, the Lady Bucks went 6-2 over their final eight games, with both of the losses coming by a single point to established junior college programs.
The finale, played on a cold night at Martin Methodist College, was the second meeting between the Lady Bucks and the RedHawks in the past five days, with Motlow winning the first game 6-0.
The Lady Bucks controlled the action for much of the contest Wednesday, with freshman Tyler Feaster scoring the first goal at the 32-minute mark. Motlow’s offense was stymied somewhat in the first half, which ended with that 1-0 advantage.
The two teams continued to play solid defense through the first 30 minutes of the second half before Motlow’s offense began breaking down the RedHawk defense. Anastasia Wellington scored at the 75-minute mark to increase the lead to 2-0, Bailee Walls added a goal at 79 minutes to up the lead to 3-0, and Angela Molina capped off the scoring at the 88-minute mark.
Because Motlow is the only Tennessee Community College Athletic Association member that plays Division I soccer, there is no conference or Region VII tournament. The Lady Bucks had certain criteria they had to meet in order to qualify for the postseason, where they would have joined teams from Mississippi and Florida, but did not meet those criteria.
The Lady Bucks will now go into their offseason program, which lasts until Feb. 1, 2018, when they can begin working together again as a team. The National Junior College Athletic Association allows four scrimmage dates in the spring, and teams can work together until April 30.
Motlow only has two sophomores on its roster, Wellington and Ali Shelton, although both have another year of soccer eligibility at the junior college level.
Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at MotlowSports.com for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics on social media at MotlowSports.
