Yellow Jackets Get a Pair of Shutouts, Builds Winning Streak

(Photo by Travis Dockery) Ien Herrada- Luna (No. 10), Coldan Rhea (No. 23) and Braylen Thompson (No. 3) create a wedge to keep defenders away from the ball.

By Travis Dockery

Sportswriter

Hayesville High School’s varsity boys soccer team turned a pair of road shutouts into a three-game winning streak last week.

The Yellow Jackets walked into Monday’s matchup at Swain County already riding two straight wins. They left Bryson City with a third after a 2-0 victory over the Maroon Devils on Sept. 21.

Hayesville entered the contest ranked 263rd in MaxPreps’ North Carolina soccer rankings. Swain County sat at 550th. The gap showed. The Jackets never allowed Swain on the scoreboard and improved to 5-2.

Swain County has been in a long slump. The Maroon Devils have dropped 10 of their last 11 matches dating back to last season and sit at 0-8-1 this year.

Five days earlier, Hayesville had already shown it could grind out a result on the road. On Wednesday, Sept. 16, the Jackets and Blue Ridge Early College Bobcats were locked in a 0-0 stalemate at halftime. Hayesville broke through after the break, kept Blue Ridge off the board, and left with a 1-0 win.

That result gave Hayesville back-to-back victories and moved the team to 4-2 at the time. Blue Ridge Early College fell to 2-3-1.

Two clean sheets, two road wins, and a 5-2 record: Hayesville’s boys soccer team is rolling into the next stretch of the season. Next up is an away match against Tri-County Early College at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23.