Hannah Styles
hstyles@thesmokymountaintimes.com
Swain soccer’s Senior Night was held last Thursday at home against the Blue Ridge Bobcats. Five seniors, Adam Cotterman, Gavin Lanning, Levi Trantham, Lucas Trantham, and Taligwo Walker were honored on the field before the game.
Just 13 short minutes into the game, Taligwo Walker passed the ball to Landon Matz for the first goal of the night. Before the end of the first half, Matthew Gray sent the ball to Matz who maneuvered in for another goal ending the first half with a score of 2-0.
The Devils’ final score of the night came after Gray did a give and go with Gavin Rowland, who finished with an impressive 30 yard out goal. The game ended with Swain winning 3-0 and claiming the Smoky Mountain Conference Championship title.
“It was great to win the conference championship on the same night that we were honoring our seniors,” said Head Coach Scott Cline. “This was also the first time we have been able to clinch the championship at our home field. The home crowd support was great once again.”
The seniors really showed out on their night. On defense, senior Lucas Trantham led the way with 12 clears/steals, followed by senior Taligwo Walker with 10, senior Levi Trantham with 6 and junior Canon Helpman with 5. In goal, junior Cameron Phillips recorded 8 goalkeeper saves.
The Player of the Game for the Devils was senior Levi Trantham.
“Levi did a great job helping out on defense. If one player got beat, we could count on him to offer support and backing his teammate up,” said Cline. “He also stepped up to help out on offense when he could.”
Seeding will take place for the playoffs on Friday and the playoffs will start the following Monday.
Swain vs. Cherokee
Devils soccer remains undefeated in conference after Monday night’s game, with a 9-0 shutout against the Cherokee Braves. Swain’s players donned pink socks for Breast Cancer Awareness. Swain started off strong with several goals in the first half of the game.
The first score of the game came when junior Matthew Gray received a pass from junior Landon Matz. Before the end of the first half Gray scored three times getting a Hat Trick. About halfway through the first half Matz received a pass from senior Lucas Trantham and then beat a few defenders, scoring a goal. With two minutes left in the half senior Gavin Lanning found Matz for his second goal of the game. The half finished with the Devils up 5-0.
In the second half, Gavin Rowland scored his first game of the season when Matz passed to him putting the Devils up 6-0. Canon Helpman also scored on the penalty kick for his first goal of the season. Spencer Rowland got in on the scoring off a pass from freshman Max Wilmot, for his first score of the season also. The Devils completed the mercy rule, with only a couple minutes left in the game when Trantham passed to Matz for his third goal of the game.
“The boys came out ready to play today. They knew one of the team goals of being undefeated in conference play still needed to be completed and they came out ready,” said Head Coach Scott Cline. “It was also great to be able to get some playing time for all of the players.”
On defense, senior Lucas Trantham led the way with 8 clears/steals. He was followed by senior Taligwo Walker and sophomore Revis Robinson each with 5 and senior Levi Trantham with 4. In goal junior Cameron Phillips recorded 3 goalkeeper saves.
The Player of the Game for the Devils was junior Matthew Gray.
“In only his second game back after surgery, Matthew was a major impact player for us today. It was great to see him back out on the field and helping his team,” said Cline. “We can really tell when he is on the field and has the ball at his feet.”
The Devils remain ranked 6-0 in the Smoky Mountain 1A Conference. Next week Swain will go on to the first round of the playoffs.