Bulldogs soccer team falls to Blue Ridge
Murphy Bulldogs, TeamFYNSports October 17, 2019
MURPHY, NC – The Bulldogs soccer squad continued to skid Thursday, Oct. 10, against Blue Ridge Early College at home.
Murphy (2-6, 1-3 Smoky Mountain 1-A) gave up two goals in the first half and could never find the net in a 2-0 loss.
Butler said the team needs to convert more scoring opportunities.
“We just came out too slow,” head coach Justin Butler said, though he said he was proud of how well the team played in the second half.
“We made some adjustments at halftime and had some players do a good job at moving into positions they were less familiar with, and held them scoreless in the second half,” Butler said.
The team continues to play with several players out injured, forcing Butler to fill the gaps as best he can on an already shortened roster.
While the defense played well in the second half, Butler is still concerned with missed scoring opportunities. The Bulldogs had several throughout the game.
“We continue to work on finishing when we have scoring opportunities. It’s going to be about making some adjustments for our next game,” Butler said. “The guys continue to put in great effort and train hard to ensure that we move forward in the right direction.”
Bulldogs fall to Swain, battle with Blue Ridge next
Murphy Bulldogs, Sports, TeamFYNSports October 6, 2019
Murphy High senior Ivan Ponce
BRYSON CITY, NC – With several Bulldogs out due to injury and the roster already short, a strong all-around effort wasn’t enough as the Murphy High soccer team fell 4-0 at Swain County on Wednesday, Oct. 2.
The injuries forced more than a few players to play out of their normal positions, making an already difficult task that much harder, according to Justin Butler, head coach for Murphy (2-5, 1-2 Smoky Mountain 1-A).
“The guys all gave it a solid effort, despite several having to play positions they aren’t used to,” Butler said after the game.
Replacement options and substitutions aren’t much of an option for the Bulldogs, so when a player does go down, it’s not as simple as running in the next guy.
Butler said that he’s going to begin training players in different positions as the season continues to progress.
Bulldogs head coach Justin Butler.
“We will continue to train and get guys more comfortable in different positions and be ready for our match against Blue Ridge on Monday,” Butler said.
Murphy High junior Colin Parker
The team will certainly have to be ready if they hope to pull an upset Monday, Oct. 7.
The Bulldogs are slated to welcome region-foe Blue Ridge Early College, from Cashiers, to Murphy at 6 p.m., Monday.
The Bobcats (6-4, 2-1) are the defending region champions and have been absolutely dominant against the Bulldogs in recent years.
In two wins last season, Blue Ridge outscored Murphy 7-3. Since 2015, the Bulldogs have been outscored 40-9 by the Bobcats in nine meetings.
The last time the Bulldogs took down Blue Ridge was in October 2013. Murphy won 4-3 in that game, but then lost to the Bobcats in the postseason to end the year.
This season, Blue Ridge is led by senior Colton Taylor and junior Jacob Pressler, who play in the mid-field.
Bulldogs soccer falls to Hayesville at home
Murphy Bulldogs, Team FYN Sports September 27, 2019
MURPHY, NC – The Murphy High Bulldogs soccer team couldn’t overcome giving up three goals in the first half Wednesday, Sept. 25, falling at home to Hayesville 3-1 in the first game of the region schedule.
The Bulldogs (1-4, 0-1 Smoky Mountain 1-A) started the match slow on defense, leading to the barrage of goals from the visiting Yellow Jackets.
Senior Braeden Alexander works on the pitch for the Murphy Bulldogs. Alexander scored the team’s lone goal in a 3-1 loss to Hayesville on Wednesday, Sept. 25, in Murphy.
“We came out lacking intensity in the first half and made some mistakes defensively, which cost us,” coach Justin Butler said.
Despite the large deficit, Murphy turned the effort around in the second half.
The Bulldogs played much stingier and together as a unit on defense. They also continued to give themselves chances to score, but still displayed difficulty finishing off those scoring opportunities, which Butler said they are going to have to improve on.
Senior Braeden Alexander finally broke through for the Bulldogs, earning and converting a penalty kick to give the team their only score of the game in the second half.
“We came out in the second half much more intense and played much better,” Butler said.
Moving forward, the coach said the team still has to improve on playing 80 full minutes of high-intensity defense, while converting their scoring opportunities.
“We must continue to improve on finishing our scoring opportunities when they are available,” Butler said. “We continue to work and improve, and I am proud of how the guys regained their composure after a lackluster first half and came out and played very hard and much better in the second half.”
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Bulldogs as they continue on in conference play.
Next week, Murphy travels to Highlands for a match with the Highlanders (4-3-2, 1-0) on Monday, before visiting Swain County (2-6-3, 0-1) on Wednesday.
Both matches are set to begin at 6 p.m.
Bulldogs soccer falls to Franklin on the road
Murphy Bulldogs, Sports, Team FYN Sports September 20, 2019
FRANKLIN, NC – The Murphy Bulldogs soccer team lost a tough game on the road Thursday, Sept. 19, at Franklin.
The Bulldogs (1-2) surrendered nine goals on the night while being shut out, but head coach Justin Butler said there were many positive to take away from the game.
Sophomore Jason Butler puts in work for the Bulldogs soccer team.
Murphy took 13 players in to play Franklin. In turn, the home team Panthers had 22 on the roster.
Having so few players means being able to substitute and give players rest is almost nonexistent.
Franklin (5-4) is a Class 2A school, while Murphy is 1A, putting the Bulldogs at a disadvantage right from the opening whistle.
“It was rough,” Butler said, but added there were some definite bright spots.
“Collin and Kenneth Parker both played fantastic and tough the entire game,” Butler said, referencing the pair of identical twins that play for the Bulldogs.
Junior Kenneth Park works on the ball for the Bulldogs soccer squad.
Against Franklin, Butler had Kenneth Parker playing the attacking midfield position, with Collin Parker standing in the center of the defense at defensive midfield.
Murphy has one more non-conference game before moving into the 1-A Smoky Mountain schedule.
The Bulldgos will take on Mountain Heritage beginning at 5 p.m., Monday, Sept. 23, in Burnsville.
After that, Murphy will host Hayesville on Wednesday, Sept. 25, beginning at 6 p.m., for the first conference game on the schedule.
The game will be the first of ten straight conference games for the Bulldogs.
Bulldogs soccer team earns first win of season
Murphy Bulldogs, Sports, Team FYN Sports September 17, 2019
MURPHY, NC – Despite facing a team with twice the players and losing one of their own to injury in the first half, the Murphy High boys soccer team earned a 2-1 win against Tallulah Falls at home Monday, Sept. 16.
Junior Kenneth Parker scored twice for Murphy on Tuesday.
The win was the first on the season for the Bulldogs (1-1) and came courtesy of gritty play and two goals from junior Kenneth Parker.
Parker scored his first goal early, finding the back of the net in just the second minute.
Much later, with the score even at a goal each and less than six minutes left in regulation, Parker again found the net for his second strike to push the Bulldogs into the lead.
Murphy was without junior forward Luke Ritz in the second half. Ritz left the game in the 16th minute due a severe ankle injury.
After Ritz’s exit, the Bulldogs found their total roster down to just 11, leaving no substitutions available for first-year head coach Justin Butler.
After a long delay in which Ritz was taken off by ambulance, Butler said he was proud of how
Junior Luke Ritz suffered a season-ending ankle injury Tuesday.
his team played with just 11 players for the remaining 65 minutes of the game.
“They played fantastic. They dug deep and continued to play hard, and it paid off with a goal late in the game and a well-earned win,” Butler said.
Ritz was diagnosed with a broken ankle and is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
“I have one (player) that was not able to suit up that will be with us normally, and one or two more that may be joining us,” Butler said of his short-staffed squad.
The Bulldogs will need to add to the roster if they hope to improve upon a 4-9 overall record, 3-7 in the conference, from a season ago.
Murphy next plays on the road at Franklin, beginning at 6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 19.
The Bulldogs are slated to open play in the 1-A Smoky Mountain Conference against Hayesville at home Sept. 25.