KNOXVILLE — Molly Layman stretched, swung her right leg forward and sent a shot skittering into the left side of the net at Carter High School on Thursday.
The freshman promptly turned and raced toward her Cocke County teammates, who wrapped her in a bear hug that turned into a stumbling, laughing dog pile.
Since Layman wound up at the bottom of this celebration, she could have felt uncomfortable with people piled on top of her.
Not so. Instead, while she was pinned against the turf, she absorbed the smiles from her teammates while enjoying the aftermath of a historic, nerve-wracking win for the Lady Red over the Lady Hornets.
And even with after an unprecedented 8-0 start for Cocke County, this win brings an extra boost that will be hard to top.
Fueled by kicks from Layman and her teammates and some timely, terrific saves from keeper Kennedy Ivey, the Lady Red pushed past the Lady Hornets 7-5 in a penalty kick shootout to beat Carter for the first time in program history.
In doing so, they improved their overall record to 9-0 and notched the current no. 1 spot in district play.
But they also peeled a metaphorical monkey off their backs, defeating a team that has ended Cocke County’s season for the past three years in district tournament losses.
That background is why head coach Mikayla Metzdorf was so nervous coming into Thursday’s match, with the anxiety taking a physical toll like never before.
“I come from a long line of coaches in football and basketball,” Metzdorf said with a laugh. “Talking to them about anxiety, throwing up before games, this is the closest I’ve been to that.”
Why? Because of the game film Metzdorf pored over this week, as she watched this same Carter program battle with a perennial district power in the Seymour Lady Eagles.
“Most recently, they played Seymour, and it was close,” she said. “Seymour has been first in our district for years, so when I saw that end result, the anxiety came from thinking that Carter would be even better than we were used to.”
So that made Thursday’s result, which featured a two-goal comeback from Cocke County to force overtime, so much sweeter.
“We know our history with Carter,” Metzdorf acknowledged. “But the way they started, all the way up to penalty kicks, I could not have asked for a better game from my players. The confidence, the work ethic, the heart — that’s what it took to get this win.”
Layman led Cocke County with a hat trick, her most clutch performance to date in what has already been an impressive freshman season.
“I wish there was a word for her,” said Metzdorf. “She is confident, and it clearly translates to every moment on the field for her.”
Layman opened the scoring with 17 minutes left in the first half, but Carter responded with three quick goals to take a 3-1 lead into halftime.
At that point, the freshman was visibly emotional, with Metzdorf reinforcing her belief in Layman at the break.
“She was a little upset with her performance,” said Metzdorf. “I’m hard on her. But she knows if I’m not yelling at her then something is wrong. I know her level of ability so I expect that from her every game.
“She is so mentally tough and bounced right back when I told her she’s playing well — I just wanted more from her. I expect excellence.”
Metzdorf reiterated that to the rest of her team too, offering a clear stance as they broke the huddle for the second half: “We are going to win this game.”
“We scored first, so I with the possession I saw in the first 20 minutes, I knew we could win,” Metzdorf added later. “I told them that and that, worst comes to worst, we play into overtime.”
Eventually, that extra period did arrive — but not without plenty of drama first.
The Lady Red pushed toward the goal early in the second half, threatening multiple times within the first 10 minutes of the period.
Finally, at the 25:44 mark, freshman Yasmin Ayala kicked a ball that ricocheted off a Carter defender’s foot before finding its way into the net to make the score 3-2.
Like Layman, Ayala has provided plenty of help as a freshman, with no moment bigger than that goal.
“She’s always consistent,” Metzdorf said of Ayala. “A true center midfielder and so calm. I’ve seen so much growth from her first game until now. She’ll work back and win every ball, no matter who she’s going up against.”
So with the tying shot in sight, Cocke County kept aiming, shooting and missing at close range.
A shot off the crossbar from Layla Bradley.
Another crossbar miss from Mia Budiraharja, this one bouncing off the goalie’s hand.
A narrow miss to the left that elicited groans from the Cocke County bench.
A ball that found its way to within an inch of the goal line, but was recovered by the Carter goalie before it crossed.
Oh, and a shot that splashed near the right post, finding the side of the net instead of the back of it.
By that point, the frustration was clearly mounting for CCHS, which had come close with no reward after drawing within a point.
All the while, though, Ivey continued making diving stops, as she ramped up her game from the first half.
“She was persistent,” said Metzdorf. “She had an amazing warmup and a few early errors, but she did not get in her head.
“I told her to play her normal game and keep communicating, because that gets you out of your head. And in the second half, I saw a different player.”
And after Cocke County had knocked on the door so much, Layman broke through with the equalizer with 11:27 left to play in regulation.
It was her second goal of the night, brought about by the frustration Metzdorf alluded to earlier.
“I got a little mad,” Layman said, “and just wanted to do better and score more.”
But after that goal, neither team found the net through the rest of regulation.
The first overtime was the same, as was the second overtime after that.
And when it came time for penalty kicks, Metzdorf knew exactly who would take the shots: Ayala, Bradley, Ella Serpico and Budiraharja, with Layman as the final piece.
As the huddle broke for the final stanza, Metzdorf gave clear instructions: “Go with your gut. Make your pick and go for it. All the keeper can do is guess.”
The Lady Hornets struck first, taking a 4-3 lead before Ayala came back to tie it at 4-all.
Then Ivey made the first of two diving stops, stretching out her arms for back-to-back defensive stands.
“She had two of the best PK saves I’ve ever seen, from any team,” said Metzdorf. “Without that, both Carter shots were on frame. So those two saves were 100% from her.”
With a Layla Bradley goal sandwiched between them, the stops held Cocke County’s lead at 5-4 to set up Serpico.
She connected to push the Lady Red lead to 6-4, but a Carter goal whittled the lead to 6-5.
At that point, all Cocke County needed was a goal from Layman to put the game out of reach.
So Layman stepped to the ball, delivered a kick with the same confidence Metzdorf has seen all season, and soon found herself buried underneath several white jerseys.
“I was so excited that we won, but i didn’t really expect them to tackle me,” she said later. “It didn’t hurt; we were all just laughing. I was just so happy that we beat Carter, so not a lot was going through my head other than, ‘I can’t believe we just won’ and that we really do have a chance.”
After everyone separated, players took selfies and performed dances with their phones used as strobe lights.
Meanwhile, Metzdorf remained bent over, gulping deep breaths to calm down from the intensity.
The physical and mental strains had taken a toll, especially with her team still clinging to an undefeated record.
But with the validation Thursday night’s win provided, Metzdorf felt comfortable expressing the full extent of her thought process — and her heightened confidence after witnessing this kind of payoff.
“This is the most anxious for a game that I’ve been all season, and the heart and skill tonight proves to me we can win it all,” she said. “The fact that we beat this team proves to me that we can beat Seymour. We will win the district this year. I have 100% faith in this team to get it done.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0