Miranda SmithCLEVELAND, Tenn. - Having lost a lot of offensive firepower from the past couple of girls' soccer seasons, Soddy-Daisy coach Moises Drumond has had to mix and match lineups, and in the early part of the season he is willing to take wins however he can get them.
Even if he has to sweat them out.
That was the case Thursday, as Miranda Smith scored in the eighth minute and the Lady Trojans defense made it stand, 1-0 over McMinn Central in the opening game of the Cleveland Classic.
Smith's goal was assisted by Rachel Rasmussen, but it was only the second goal scored by the Lady Trojans in four matches after eight in a season-opening win against Arts & Sciences.
"It's been a lot more stressful to start with, but as long as we're making strides, we're good," Drumond said. "We have to continue to improve -- we have to start getting more shots on goal now -- but we're playing some teams this weekend that will be able to show our glaring weaknesses."
The Lady Trojans fired 16 shots Thursday, and 10 were on frame. The defense did its part, limiting the Chargerettes (1-2) to two shots.
McMinn Central also is replacing a lot from a team that advanced to the Class A/AA sectional round a year ago, and it just got goalkeeper Taylor Young back after she missed the first two matches.
"I think if she had played the first two matches, she would have made the save on the goal they had," McMinn Central coach Bill McConkey said.
"We're extremely young this year, and we're playing young. We've had some players step up and they're starting to improve as this season has gone along. They did a good job tonight."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6311. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.