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Coffee County girls’ soccer coach Megan Srofe knew that vibes were high following her team’s trip to the Smoky Mountain Cup in Gatlinburg this past weekend. This positive energy came out in full force when the Lady Raiders took to the field in their return to their home pitch Monday evening.

Hosting Fayetteville, Coffee County dominated from start to finish on the way to a 9-0 thrashing.

“(Gatlinburg) was a fun trip and everyone got to hang out with each other for a long time. The morale was just a lot better, so I think that led into this game and the spirits were high,” Srofe said. “I think it was a great opportunity to have more players on the field and give everyone the chance to score.”

Lilly Matherne got it started with a pair of goals within the first three minutes of play to get the Coffee County offense rolling early. Tia Buchanan followed this up with another goal to make it a 3-0 game with around 14:26 left in the first half.

Barely over two minutes later, Bailey Barsenas nailed a free kick to push the Lady Raider lead to 4-0. Barsenas would strike again not long after, adding another goal to make it a 5-0 lead with 10:46 still to play before halftime.

The first-half onslaught continued until just before the clock struck zero when Kiera McInturff scored a goal to put Coffee County up 6-0 at the break.

The Lady Raiders picked up right where they left off when the second half got under way, starting with a goal from Lexxi Vanzandbergen to make it a 7-0 game.

Kayla Deanda followed this up with a goal of her own around the 14:28 mark, before a second goal from Buchanan ended the game via mercy rule with 9:35 remaining.

“We definitely needed a win to boost our spirits,” Srofe said. “It’s been tough and the girls, they play good against good teams, so we’ve gotta play good against the other teams as well, so that’s the biggest thing.”

Coffee County returns to action with a road game at Webb Tuesday evening. Match time is set for 6 p.m.