MARYVILLE – Asbury played Maryville a little close for comfort, but the Scots made a first-half
Sierra Lee goal stand in a 1-0 victory here Wednesday night.
The win clinches Maryville's third straight Collegiate Conference of the South regular season title. The team improved to 7-0-0 in the league and 10-2-4 overall. Women's soccer claimed the first trophy of the 2024-25 season for Maryville Athletics, which won seven trophies in 2023-24.
This marks the 25th year in a row that head coach
Pepe Fernandez and associate head coach
Jon Baker have led the Scots to at least 10 victories. Baker – who started his tenure at Maryville in 2000 – has never been on the sidelines for a women's season that did not end in at least 10 wins.
"That was our 10th win," Baker said. "If we get into double digits in wins, it's been a good year. It's a good benchmark that we always try to shoot for.
"We played well. I wish we had put away some chances early in the first half, but overall, I was pleased. It's nice to get our regular season championship – third one in a row. That's exciting, and we're looking forward to the tournament."
Nearly Perfect Last Two Seasons
Maryville shared the 2022 regular season title with Piedmont, and the Scots ended up dropping the final to the Lions in a penalty-kick shootout on Piedmont's field. But since that heartbreaker, the Scots are 17-0-1 against league opponents.
Maryville plays a meaningless match Friday at Piedmont in the regular season finale as part of a doubleheader with the men's team (that match is not meaningless). After that, Maryville looks forward to hosting the CCS Tournament semifinals Nov. 6 against an opponent to be determined.
"It's like 11 days without a game, so that's a little concerning for us just the time without playing," Baker said. "But that's part of it. It's a chance to get some players back who have a few knocks. Hopefully, that will be beneficial as well."
Lee's goal came in the 22nd minute when she nudged the ball over the line in a crowded goalmouth off a feed from
Avery Brown. The goal was Lee's CCS-leading 12th of the season and 42nd of her stellar career. She has tied Jaimie Roberts (2006-07) for 13th on the Maryville career scoring chart.
Lee scored five in her first year of 2021, 13 as a sophomore when she earned CCS Offensive Player of the Year, 12 last season and now another 12 thus far in 2024.
"Sierra is having a fantastic senior season and I'm happy for her," Baker said. "She is into double digits for goals now and climbing in our records book."
Fourth Shutout This Month
Maryville's shutout was its fourth of the season, all in October. The Scots, who own a 3-0-1 series lead against Asbury, posted a 23-4 advantage in shots and a 9-0 margin in corner kicks. Lee fired seven shots, including four on target, with
Hannah Smooth attempting four and
Madison McDonald three.
Sydney Mahr was not forced to make any saves in the match, thanks to Maryville's defensive effort in front of her.
"The defense was really solid; pleased to get the shutout," Baker said. "
Sydney Mahr in goal has done well this season and just gotten better. And the defense around her has done well. It's a consistent group, with
Elle Fair,
Caelin Cole,
Olivia Norris and
Erin Hudson all having fine seasons."
Kickoff on Friday is 4 p.m. for the men's match and 6:30 p.m. for the women. The Piedmont women are second in the CCS at 5-1-1 and 7-4-4 overall.
"We still want to go down there and play well," Baker said. "Maybe it's an opportunity to play some of those who didn't get in against Asbury, but we will just have to see how everyone feels Thursday. We had some girls who did a lot of minutes tonight.
"It's a quick turnaround; we leave Thursday afternoon. It's nice that we are going down the night before."
