Rhea County High School Soccer Splits For the Week
Rhea vs McMinn JV 4/3/25
Thursday evening saw the Rhea County Eagles travel to the McMinn Cherokees with beautiful weather and a warm breeze to start off the JV game at 5:30pm. The Eagles came out the first half controlling the tempo of the game with Jesse Stumbo capitalizing on a ball bounced away off the Cherokee’s goalie deflection and putting it in the back of the net. Eagles held the lead 1-0 at halftime. The second half was pretty much the same, with the Eagles dominating the game, ending in another goal from a massive throw-in into the box by Elijah Norman, which Guilver Gomez ran onto and blasted it past their keeper. Final score 2-0 and the JV squad continues on their undefeated season.
Rhea vs McMinn Varsity 4/3/25
The Varsity came onto the pitch after with a slow start to the first half, resulting in the Eagles down 0-2 halftime score. The game was chippy, with 2 yellow cards being given out to the Eagles and 1 to the Cherokees, but the Eagles came out the second half determined to battle back. Cooper Brackett drew a foul inside the Cherokee’s box, which Christian Martinez buried the PK, resulting in a 2-1 game within the first 8 minutes of play. The Eagles continued the fight and managed to tie it in the last 10 minutes of the game from a beautiful corner cross by Anderson Cathey that Steven Henriquez jumped up to head into the back of the Cherokee’s net, score tied 2-2. At the end of regulation, both teams could not find a game-winning goal, so 2 overtime’s of 10 minutes each commenced.
Despite the Eagles dominating play in both of the overtime’s, they could not find the back of the net, resulting in PK’s to decide who would win the district game. Goalie Wes Robinson came in clutch in the PK’s with 2 saves on net, giving the Eagles the edge they needed to hold the Cherokees off and winning the game 5-4, the Eagles not even needing their last PK to win. PK shooters to score for the Eagles were Christian Martinez, Geo Pacheco, and Kevin Hernandez. Senior goalkeeper, Robinson, had this to say, “ It was a great atmosphere with my team believing in me to help win the game in a penalty kick shootout. I love this team, they are my brothers and I love going to battle with them every time we walk on that field. I’m proud of the way our team played tonight, we never gave up.” District record stands at 1-0 now, and overall record is now 4-6.
East Ridge Vs Rhea County JV 3/31/25
The day started off with thunderstorms and rain but by the early afternoon, it was replaced with cloudy skies and blustery wind, so the Eagles took to the pitch at home to take on the East Ridge Pioneers. JV started off at 5:30 with the boys controlling the tempo of the game from the start and finding the back of the net in the first half off a cross from Jack Bamber into Sam Rasnake, who was there to collect the rebound off the goalie’s hands and settle it firmly past him. 1-0 lead at halftime. The second half saw the Eagles come out with more gusto with a massive throw-in by Elijah Norman into the middle of the 18 box, which Anderson Cathey planted a solid blast into the corner of the net. Cathey again initiated the 3rd goal with a beautiful cross kick over to the far side of the net, which Devi Lopez sprinted into touch into the opposite corner with ease. The final goal of the shutout game for the Eagles came from a PK by Jeremy Perez, final score of 4-0; still an undefeated season by the JV boys.
East Ridge Vs Rhea County Varsity 3/31/25
With 2 key starters benched due to injuries, the Varsity took to the pitch afterwards hoping to capitalize on the momentum already shown, but the Pioneers came out looking to battle physically. Even with 3 yellow cards being distributed to the Pioneers in the first half, the physicality of the game did not stop and the halftime score was 0-0. The second half began in the same fashion the first half did, with the physicality of the game dynamic increasing as the half wore on. An unfortunate foul by the Eagles in the box lead to a Pioneers PK, which they promptly buried into the back of the net, despite a valiant effort by goalkeeper Wes Robinson. The Eagles still had plenty of time to come back and battle, which they did, but a 2nd goal with less than 17 minutes left to play put a damper on the Eagle’s drive, and despite their continuous effort, they fell short. Final score 0-2. Head Coach Justin Smith had this to say, “Tough game tonight. Overall, we competed well but just couldn’t produce the chances we needed. Districts are here now, so hopefully we can get things ironed out heading into those games. Hats off to the JV boys though on their continued success!” Eagle’s record stands at 3-6.
Article by Audrey Norman