DUANE SHERRILLEditor

The Tullahoma Wildcat soccer season kicked off in McMinnville this past week with the ‘Cats dropping a pair of tight ones on the Warren County pitch.

The Junior Varsity actually held the lead the entire first half after Jude Smith put the ball in the back of the net with assists from Asa Smith and Daniel Lukianov. However, an own-goal from a Pioneer corner kick erased the lead and then the winning goal came after goalie Danny Eldridge made a double save only to be beaten when the Warren County forward beat Tullahoma to the ball for a rebound put in. The end result was a 3-2 Warren County Junior Varsity win.

The Tullahoma Varsity lost 2-0 to their hosts in a game that was scoreless at the half. The winning goal came midway through the second half on a bobbled save in goal, partly due to the brutally cold weather which made the ball hard to grip. The second Warren County goal came due to a mistake in the box which led to an easy put away with 11 minutes left in the contest.

“Five Varsity players were missing from the line up — injuries or out of town,” said Coach Richie Chadwick. “With Ethan (GK for the last 3 years) and Justus (played in the goal last year too) graduating, the Keeper position will need some time to gain the experience.  All other areas looked good for their first true competition of the year. Both squads had their moments and will improve as more game reps occur.”

Coach Chadwick said the Varsity game provided glimpses of what could have been as there were close calls.

“The best opportunities in the 1st were when Jayden (Sarabia) received a pass from Grant (Chadwick) as the attacked started from our defense. Jayden barley missed the goal on a 1 v 1,” the coach said. “Ben (Mehalic) and Gabe (Barnes) had some great looks that were shot to their GK or just over the goal. Grant (Chadwick) hit the post in the 2nd and we had several good looks off corner kicks. Brayan Escamilla had a nice play from preventing a goal.”