MARYVILLE – Maryville capped off a dominating 2023 Collegiate Conference of the South schedule with a 9-0 throttling of Agnes Scott here Saturday for Homecoming and Senior Night.
How dominating?
Try outscoring eight league opponents 42-2. Those same opponents hope to have better luck against the Scots in the upcoming CCS tournament, but the road to the CCS title runs through Maryville as long as the Scots are alive and kicking.
"It's really difficult to win a championship," Maryville head coach
Pepe Fernandez said. "You have to go on the road and win games playing in some very difficult places against good opponents. All the coaches will tell you that it's probably more difficult to win a regular season championship than a tournament.
"A tournament is a one-off; anything can happen. But to be consistent over two months of your schedule – and we've given up only two goals in conference play and just seven on the year, so you like the defensive side of the ball. I couldn't be prouder of this group, and we have a chance to go on and play well in the tournament."
Seven Goal Scorers in Largest Win of Season
Saturday's nine-goal win was the largest of the season.
Sierra Lee and
Sadie Phelan both scored braces, while
Hannah Smoot,
Chloe Chase,
Ellie Schuld,
Anne Marie Konieczny and
Avery Brown added single tallies.
Katie Corley had two assists to lead that category in the box score, while
Sydney Mahr picked up the goalkeeping win.
Before Saturday's match, the athletics department recognized the team's six seniors and their families. This year's senior class is
Hailey Cartt,
Macy Lindsey,
Delaney Muldoon,
Katie O'Brien,
Alex Smith and
Sophie Turner. Saturday clinched the group's third regular season crown and improved their overall record to 46-14-10 and conference mark to 27-3-2. The program also recognized the newest Wall of Fame member in former Scot soccer star Pam Russell Buecker, who joined the starters for introductions on the field.
The Scots open CCS tournament play next Saturday against the winner of the Wesleyan at Agnes Scott match being played midweek. Maryville is playing Tuesday night at Emory (7-3-3) in one final nonconference prep prior to the league tourney.
The Scots are 12-2-3 and riding a seven-match winning streak. They finished 7-0-1 in the CCS, with the only blemish at 1-1 draw at third-seeded Covenant to open the league schedule back on Sept. 20.
"They are a fantastic group, and you hope the soccer ball bounces their way in the tournament," Fernandez said. "They've put themselves in a really good spot hosting. When you play on your home field and play at Maryville, we've been really successful."
