Franklin County JV girls soccer ends season undefeated
District champions.
An undefeated season.
The best Franklin County High School junior varsity girls soccer record since 2011.
Those were the accolades the team earned Friday night after knocking off William Fleming in a 6-0 route at home.
“I can’t understate what that means for this team,” head coach Dave Campbell said. “All season long, these ladies have fought through injuries, adversity, doubt and success. I am so proud of what this team has done.”
Typically, standings aren’t kept for JV teams in the Blue Ridge District, but with a season tally of 13-0-1, there is no doubt who finished on top.
“Everybody knows who wins and who doesn’t,” Campbell said. “We had targets on our backs all season, and these ladies rose above it and fought the entire way. Their tenacity has been infectious and inspirational.”
Not since Erin Saleeby held the reins of the girls JV program and went 15-0-1 in 2011 has Franklin County achieved such a record, and the game last night solidified the honor.
“That was a special game,” Campbell said. “And it was a great way to go out.”
The Eagles scored early when eighth grader Jazmin Hernandez-Garcia took an assist from sophomore Alice Schaer a little more than five minutes into the contest. The goal put the Eagles up 1-0 with 24:33 left to play in the half.
Then, with 15:16 remaining in the period, eighth grader Sutton Lang fed the ball to sophomore Elliana Tharp, who found paydirt to make the score 2-0 Eagles.
Sophomore Dulce Garcia then added the third goal of the half on an assist from eighth grader Brooklyn Smoot with 2:00 left to play in the first. Franklin County took the 3-0 lead into the half.
Coming out after the break, Smoot added a goal two minutes into the period when she scored an unassisted goal at the 28:00 mark to make the score 4-0 Eagles.
Smoot added another unassisted goal 55 seconds later when she put one in the back of the net at the 27:05 mark, making the score 5-0.
The final goal of the evening came from freshman Estrella Gonzalez-Hernandez when she scored with 20:39 left in the contest to make the score 6-0.
From there, Franklin County’s defense did what it has done all season—stifle the other team’s attempts at scoring. When the final whistle sounded, the 6-0 score went in the books, as did the undefeated season.
The Eagles gave up a total of only two goals the entire season, while scoring 48 of their own.
“That speaks volumes for our defense,” Campbell said. “Our back line has been stellar all season long. They have been our glue. Our two center backs, Alice and (eighth grader) Bethany Amos, have been amazing, as have our outside backs Caretta Cook (eighth grade), Alexa Garcia (freshman) and Iona May (sophomore).”
Campbell also took time to praise assistant coach Chris Smoot.
“Chris’ contribution to the team has been invaluable,” Campbell said. “His knowledge of the game is deep, and he gives freely of his ideas and energy. I couldn’t ask for a better partner in this endeavor.”
