It was the Molly Muenchen show Friday night at Dawson County High School. The freshman put on quite the performance, scoring a school record six goals in a single game as the Lady Tigers steamrolled the West Hall Lady Spartans to the tune of 10-0.
“I didn’t tell (Molly) until halftime,” said Head Coach Chess Hamby about informing Muenchen that she was close to breaking the school record. “Probably shouldn’t have told her at all because I think she put a lot of pressure on herself.
“She’s been so close. I think she’s scored four (goals) in two games previously, so at some point you just got to let her go for (the record).”
Not only has Muenchen been close to the record before, she’s been consistently lighting up the stat sheet all season. Other than the shutout loss to Flowery Branch, Muenchen has scored a hat trick (three goals) in nearly every other contest this season.
“With Coach Lacey and Grace (Sheer) passing away,” Muenchen said. “That just gave me more motivation. Trusting in God and making sure I play for them every game.”
This was the second straight game for Dawson County (4-1) that ended early via the mercy rule. On Feb. 27, the Lady Tigers defeated Union County in their region opener, 10-0. That game ended with over 21 minutes still on the clock.
On March 2, Muenchen scored her record-breaking sixth goal, and the Lady Tigers’ 10th goal, on a penalty kick with just 15 seconds remaining to end the contest.
“(Molly’s) an awesome kid,” Hamby said. “She does so much for our team. It’s pretty neat to be a part of (the record), so I’m proud of her and I’m proud of all the other girls who helped her out.”
According to Muenchen, the 5-0 loss to Flowery Branch last Tuesday served as motivation for the team to bounce back strong and after outscoring their opponents 20-0 this week, it’s safe to say the Lady Tigers did just that.
“We’re coming together as a team,” Muenchen said. “We’re just more motivated and I think it’s helping us a lot.”
“I don’t know if any team in the state has been through what we’ve been through this year,” said Hamby about his team’s ability to bounce back. “I’m just proud of them just to go have fun and get back to doing what they love to do and the results will take care of themselves.”