By Thomas Sellers Jr.
The last week of September was going historically well for the Munford Lady Cougar Soccer program. Earlier in the month the team set a record with 12 goals in a game in a win over Dyer County. Then the Lady Cougars beat Tipton County rival the Covington Lady Chargers 7-3. So before area rival the Millington Lady Trojans arrived to the Munford Stadium for last Thursday’s showdown, Munford Head Coach Dylan Burnett received the news his team was in the area ranking. Munford made sure the week concluded on a high note beating Millington 10-0. “Yeah, it’s fun getting all of our girls into the game,” Burnett said. “I’ve had girls who maybe played 5 games scoring. That’s good and that fun giving experience to the younger girls. But they have to understand that’s the last type of game we’re going to get. That’s the last one. “We have Brighton and they’re coming for our heads,” he continued. “We have St. Benedict, they’re coming for our head. District champions, Region Semis, then finals, we have all these things.” Burnett said the upcoming schedule will be even tougher with the Lady Cougars experiencing historic success. “Especially since we’re in the Dandy Dozen that just makes the target even bigger,” he said. “That’s never happened. We’ve never been ranked in the Dandy Dozen before. I’m trying to keep the girls level headed and make sure they can carry that ranking with poise. And not get too cocky or confident or think too much into it. If we make one hiccup that ranking doesn’t mean anything. And once it gets into the postseason, the ranking don’t mean anything.” Munford’s first game as a ranked team was again the Lady Trojans. Less than 5 minutes into the game Lyndsie Ralyea scored the first goal bending the ball into the net. About 7 minutes later Demis Brown added to her team-leading goal total with a shot into the net to make the score 2-0. The score 3-0 at the 27:15 mark when Kasey Moore blasted a shot and was able to score on the rebound. After Ralyea’s second goal made the score 4-0, she located Brown for her second point of the game to make the tally 5-0. To close out the first half junior Morgan Self got into the scoring act with goal to make the halftime tally 6-0. In the second half the Lady Cougars received 4 with Moore scoring twice to finish the game with a hat-trick. Charleigh Callahan scored the other two goals to make the final 10-0. As Munford approaches the postseason, Burnett said one of his biggest challenges as a coach will be to keep them focused. “This is a true test,” he said. “These girls have never really been in this type of position. Which is good. We wanted our program to be here. It’s because of all of their hard work. We were out here busting tails conditioning months and months ago.
“There were two-a-days with these girls working hard,” Burnett concluded. “It’s showing that it’s playing off. But if we fall short come postseason it’s going to leave a sour taste. I have to keep them focused on learning how to win with a target on their back.”
