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Senior Mazie Helpman surrounded by Lady Braves as she looks for a teammate to pass to.
Last Thursday, the Lady Devils soccer team hosted the Cherokee Braves for Senior Night. The seniors honored on Swain’s team were Mirian DeLaCruz, Mazie Helpman, Jade Henry, Avery Maples, Jadyn Perez, and Kaylee Simmons.
“These seniors have made a major impact on the soccer team and the soccer program as a whole. Three of them are injured and leave some major holes on our team. They are truly missed out on the field,” Head Coach Scott Cline said. “They will all go on to do great things.”
Twenty minutes into the game Karena Cline took a corner kick and Anna Gray received the ball outside the box and scored a goal over the goalkeepers outreached arms. With eleven minutes left in the half Mazie Helpman passed to Mya Burrows-Kurr with a pass and Burrows-Kurr dribbled past a few defenders and found the corner of the goal. The 1st half ended with the Devils leading 2-0.
With only five minutes left in the game Cline passed to Helpman for a goal and just two minutes later Helpman recovered a ball that bounced off a few Braves defenders and got another goal. The game finished with the Lady Devils taking the 4-0 win. “We played a pretty solid game. It was a very physical game and Cherokee played a very tight defense. It was hard to get through it at times,” Coach Cline said.
Defensively Anna Gray led the way with 15 clears/steals, followed by Karena Cline with eight, Jade Henry and Sophie Matz each with seven. In goal Gracie Sutton recorded two goalkeeper saves.
The player of the game for the Lady Devils was freshman Karena Cline.
“Karena has really stepped it up in the middle of the field. She not only has been working well offensively, but she also has been a major presence on the defensive side,” Coach Cline said.
The Lady Devils had one more regular season game on Monday at home against Blue Ridge, which resulted in a 4-1 win.
The win made Swain Co-Smoky Mountain Conference champions with Highlands, as they also won against Murphy on Monday night. Since both Swain and Highlands won their games, they will likely play to determine playoff seeding later this week.