MHS soccer falls short in district title game, 3-2, to Farragut

By Pete Herbert
Daily Times Correspondent

FARRAGUT -- Thirteen minutes into the District 4-AAA soccer championships, Farragut's Tyler Mottern put a header past Rebel goalkeeper Daniel Weatherbee. A lightening delay turned postponement, two overtime periods and roughly 16 hours later, Maryville lost, 3-2, in an intense and emotional game at Farragut.

"I'm extremely proud of my players," said MHS skipper John Kerr. "All of sixteen of them. It was a team effort and they gave it all the way through the game. I can't ask for anything more."

The game was slated for Friday night, but the teams could only play 20 minutes of the first half before lightening and rain postponed the game to Saturday morning, with Farragut leading 1-0.

The storms rolled out, but it was still a cloudy and shady day at Farragut when play resumed.

The first half ticked away without nearly as much excitement that would follow, and the second half started with the Admirals holding onto the 1-0 lead.

Ten minutes into the second half, a Farragut yellow card would give Maryville a free kick just above the eighteen . Ridge Carter slipped the ball into the net, tying the game.

Three minutes later, Admiral Joseph Muth found the back of the net with a header of the sideline throw from Tyler Pack.

A Farragut handball, however, would give Maryville another free kick at the goal from about the same spot as before. With fifteen minutes left of regulation, Carter faked the kick and David Large came in behind to punch it through, again tying the game, 2-2.

The whistles blew and the teams headed into overtime. There were several close calls, but defense won the first 10-minute period of OT, Weatherbee coming up huge with some saves.

With six minutes left in the second 10 minutes, Maryville's Carter glided past Admiral defenders on a fastbreak when Farragut's Muth grabbed Carter's sleeve and dragged him down from behind, earning a red card and a two-game break from soccer.

With some controversy, Maryville was only granted a free kick instead of the penalty kick and was unable to convert. Three minutes later, Mottern scored again for the Admirals, taking a 3-2 lead.

Maryville couldn't even the score, despite bringing Weatherbee out of the box and onto offense for a corner kick.

"It could have gone either way," Kerr said. "I don't know if everyone here knows just how good Farragut is. They are defending state champs, number one in the state and probably odds on favorite to win it again this year. But we'd like to say something about that."

Maryville advances to regional play against host team Oak Ridge on Tuesday at 7 p.m.