Despite solid effort, Dyersburg eliminated by Notre Dame

CHATTANOOGA - After breezing through the region tournament and their substate matchup against McNairy Central, the Dyersburg Lady Trojans went into the first round of the TSSAA State Soccer Tournament in Chattanooga with a lot of confidence.

Unfortunately for Dyersburg fans, the Lady Trojans' inexperience in the state tournament showed, as they fell to the Lady Irish of Notre Dame High School 6-0, ending the season for the Black and Gold squad.

"It was a good experience for us. Everyone got a chance to play and that was great," said Lady Trojan head coach Joy Norman. "I don't think we came out with saucer eyes, I really think we came to play today, but it just didn't work out."

The Lady Trojans and the Lady Irish went back and forth in the first half of the game, but Notre Dame picked up their first goal of the game with five minutes left in the opening period, which put Dyersburg's backs against the wall at halftime.

Lady Trojan defensive specialist Brooke Hubbard aggravated an already-existing knee injury late in the first half, which sidelined the sophomore standout for the remainder of the game.

Without Hubbard breaking up scoring drives in the second half, Norman had to rearrange the Lady Trojans defense, which didn't go well for Dyersburg.

"We had to move some players to positions they might not have been comfortable playing to try and get that goal back they scored before halftime," said Norman. "It was huge when Brooke went out, but the defense really came together in the first half."

Notre Dame came out of the halftime break on fire, scoring three goals in the first six minutes of play to stretch its lead to 4-0 with over 30 minutes left in the match.

Notre Dame added two more goals late in the second half, which sealed the victory for the Lady Irish, but the loss did not come because of lack of effort from the Dyersburg squad.

"In the first half we were more focused on defense and we were able to hold our own," said Norman. "In the second half we tried to focus more on offense, and it just didn't work."

The Lady Trojans were shut out for the first time this season, but the experience gained with the trip to the state tournament should benefit the squad next season.

Dyersburg only has two seniors on this year's squad, Katie Taylor and Laura Leigh Horner, so the Lady Trojans should have enough talent next year to reload and make another strong push to return to the tournament again next season.

"I'm hoping since they have been here, they want to work and come back," said Norman. "I hope it was a good taste, and there is no reason why we shouldn't be back next year."

Despite the one-sided loss to Notre Dame, the Lady Trojans have a bright future, especially with another year of experience under their belts.

"This was a super season, this is a great group of girls," said Norman. "They worked really hard to get here, and hopefully they will work hard again next year and we can make it back here."