The WCHS Lady Pioneer soccer team opened its season with a 6-2 victory over DeKalb County on Tuesday night in Smithville.  
The Lady Pioneer defensive unit that’s made up of Emma Mullican, Bethany Porter, Neva Tackett, Haven Griffith, Megan Winkler, Kyra Garrison, and Gwynie Simpson kept the Tigerettes in check for nearly the entire match.
Chelsea Stewart and Rachel Stewart both split time at keeper and both did a nice job controlling any threats DeKalb presented, according to Lady Pioneer head coach Todd Willmore. 
“All of our defenders and keepers played well and kept DeKalb’s offensive threats in check, especially after the first 10 minutes of the match,” said Willmore.
On the offensive side of the ball, there were a number of contributors for the Lady Pioneers. Natalie Reed and Abby Roller had two goals each, followed by Sally Willmore with one goal and three assists.
The scoring was rounded off by Emory Anish with one goal. 
“A number of other girls made significant contributions to our offensive threat and they included Sarah Lockhart, Allison Cripps, Savannah Cox, and MaKenna Mason,” said Willmore. “We were able to give a number of younger players valuable experience late in the game and all did an excellent job.”
Willmore added, “We were a little rusty at the start of the match, giving up two goals in the first 10 minutes. However, our defense recovered nicely and did not give up a goal the rest of the match. Most of the second half was played on our offensive half of the field and our defensive unit did an excellent job of keeping the ball pushed forward.”
The Lady Pioneers travel to Tullahoma this Tuesday to take on the Lady Wildcats. Junior varsity will begin at 5 p.m., with varsity following at 7 p.m. 
The Lady Pioneers first home match will be Thursday against Riverdale beginning at 6 pm at the WCHS soccer complex.