CLEVELAND — Both Heritage Academy and Starkville Academy saw their girls’ soccer teams compete in the Bayou 11v11 Tournament in Cleveland over the weekend. Hosts Bayou Academy welcomed teams from across the south to compete and mark the beginning of the girls soccer season for the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools.
Starkville Academy made the trip to play some of the first matches under new head coach, Boston Hampton.
The Vols won their first match against Manchester Academy by a score of 4-0 before taking a tough loss to Jackson Prep, falling 8-0.
“They still played hard, they didn’t give up and they learned some things from the Prep game,” Hampton said of his team’s performances at Bayou. “Regardless of the scores, all the girls worked hard and played how we planned and we all had fun together. “
Senior Rylee Fisher bagged a brace of goals for the Vols while classmate Sara Stokes McReynolds and freshman Emily Paige Fuller scored one goal each.
The Vols start their regular season on Thursday with a home match against Magnolia Heights Academy at the Starkville Sportsplex.
Heritage Academy also began their season at Bayou, the third season with head coach Jacob Hunt in charge.
The Patriots drew their first match 0-0 with St. Joe Madison, but the second match was a 2-0 win over Washington School, with freshman Swayze Callaway scoring for the Patriots with an own goal added to seal the win.
The Patriots had a strong 10-4-1 campaign last season, and despite seeing a few key players graduate the team expects to be competitive again.
“We feel pretty confident,” Hunt said after the weekend. “We lost some crucial pieces but the young ones have stepped up big to fill in those gaps. The next few games are against some tough opponents, so that’ll be a big test for us.”
The Patriots play their first home game against Jackson Academy on Thursday at the Roger Short Soccer Complex.
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