STARKVILLE — Starkville High School soccer held its senior night on Tuesday during its matchup with Class 7A rivals Clinton.
The Jacket seniors were honored between varsity games, with head coaches Evinn Watson and Parker Hoyt handing out graduation cords while their teammates held a guard of honor. However, the games did not go the way either group was hoping. The girls and boys both lost, with the girls falling, 4-1 and the boys losing, 3-1.
“It’s great to see,” Watson said. “You look back and see some of the pictures of them as seventh graders, now they’re about to go play college soccer. It’s a great thing, and it’s a celebration, no matter the results on the field, just to see the families. These kids have come together as they have in the last five or six years.”
“They’re a pleasant group overall, girls who were happy to be a part of the team and be around other girls like them,” Hoyt said of his group. “They wanted to have fun on the field and playing the game and that made it fun to coach them.”
The Jacket girls closed out a 7-11 campaign and will miss the playoffs after failing to win a single district game in a daunting Class 7A division. Hoyt appreciated the effort of his young team though, and expects to see more growth going forward after playing against some of the best in the state.
“Honestly knowing the team we were working with and the teams we have to play against in district, I’m happy with seeing the girls grow and improve,” he said. “The touch has improved, their knowledge of the game has improved and I think that’s the way to look at it.”
Senior Olivia Anderson added another goal to her tally for the year, opening the scoring for the Jackets, but the team struggled to hold on. Clinton equalized before the half and scored three goals in the second half to seal the win.
The Jacket boys will make the playoffs despite their loss on Tuesday, making it as the third seed. They had a chance to finish second in their district with a 14-5 overall record, 4-2 against their division, but the results didn’t fall their way.
“We didn’t quite get the second seed, but we’re fortunate to still make the playoffs,” Watson said. “It’s a great opportunity. We’re happy we get to keep playing and we don’t want to take it for granted.”
Clinton scored twice on set pieces in the first half to take a 2-0 lead. In response, Starkville sophomore William Eaves sent in a good cross from a corner kick, looking for a teammate at the back post. In the confusion, a Clinton defender was able to block out the Jackets, but the ball bounced off his back and into the net to pull one back for Starkville just before halftime. Clinton would seal the win with a third goal on a breakaway, ensuring the Jackets will have to travel to Oxford for the playoffs next Tuesday.
“I could already tell when the whistle blew he had moved his outside backs, who were strikers the last time we played them,” Watson said, analyzing the game. “They made some adjustments, they focused on free kicks and scored two goals off of them, and we’re going to have to make our own adjustments going into the playoffs.”
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