The Motlow State Lady Bucks ended their 2018 soccer season with an 8-0 loss to the nation’s sixth-ranked team, Lewis & Clark Community College, in the semifinals of the NJCAA Central District Tournament Thursday in Godfrey, Illinois.
Motlow (12-5-2) advanced to the NJCAA tournament after winning the TCCAA/Region VII Tournament last week in Collierville. The Lady Bucks beat Southwest Tennessee 3-2 in the championship game, capping a season that also saw them win the TCCAA regular season championship.
“It was a great experience to travel to Illinois and to witness what the upper level of Division I junior college soccer looks like,” said Andy Lyon, Motlow head coach. “We competed well for long periods of the contest and created several scoring chances against one of the nation’s best teams. Our program is better now because of this experience. We’ve taken another step forward.”
Lyon, who built the program after being hired in September 2016, was named the TCCAA/Region VII Coach of the Year. Additional honors went to Alexandra Rouse, TCCAA/Region VII Tournament Most Valuable Player; Emily Vallejo, Freshman of the Year; Natalie Feaster, Defensive Player of the Year; and Tyler Feaster, Natalie Feaster, Kayla Moultry and Keely Smith, who were each named to the All-TCCAA team.
Tyler Feaster led the Lady Bucks in points for the season with 25, followed by Emily Vallejo with 21, April Gillespie with 12, and Rouse and Kristen Heath with 11 each. Feaster also had a team-high 10 goals on the season, while Vallejo had nine and Rouse five. Gillespie and Smith each had a team-high six assists.
Emily Bryant was the top goal keeper, posting an 8-4-1 record and allowing 17 goals, including all eight against Lewis & Clark. Although her statistics are somewhat skewed after the final game, Bryant was splendid the entire season with 42 total saves. Ashley Woods posted a 3-0 record in goal and had 31 saves with a 1.09 goals-against average.
“This team has represented the College and itself very well,” added Lyon. “They genuinely enjoy being around each other and they have been a pleasure to coach. It has been a special journey for the sophomores. They wanted to make history since the introduction of the program and they succeeded. They created a great foundation for future recruiting classes and they will always be remembered as the first recruiting class, the first TCCAA/Region VII conference champion, and the first Division I community college soccer players in Tennessee.”
Lyon will be a guest on the Coffee Coaches Show on Saturday broadcast live from the Al White Ford/Lincoln showroom. The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast live from 10 to 11 AM each Saturday and is heard exclusively here on Thunder Radio.
