Warhorses bounce back with home victory over Smoky Mountain
Woolley scores 4 to take Owen to 2-1
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
September 3, 2025
The Warhorses were keen to return to the field, Sept. 2, as they prepared to compete for the first time in two weeks, following a tough loss on the road against Brevard to close out last month.
Hosting 4-1-1 Smoky Mountain, Owen, which entered the contest with a 1-1 mark, was hoping to re-establish its aggressive offensive attack. Led by senior Spencer Woolley, the home team needed a little over two minutes to do just that.
The Warhorses were propelled to a 5-2 victory over the Mustangs by 4 goals from Woolley, who started off the night with a quick strike off an early corner kick. When Smoky Mountain battled back to even the score a few minutes later, the winger needed only 37 seconds to put his team ahead for good.
Owen entered the half, up 3-2, before stepping up the pace in the final 40 minutes of play. A goal from the right side by Calvin Barker extended the Warhorse lead in the 19th minute, while Woolley squared up in front of the goal late in the contest to punctuate the effort.
The win, which came after a week in which a scheduling conflict forced the team to skip a non-conference matchup against Roberson and 14 days after a 4-1 loss to the Blue Devils, was well-earned, according to Woolley.
“Last game wasn’t our best game, but in the past couple of weeks we’ve trained the hardest we’ve ever trained,” he said. “We have to give credit to Coach Trei (Morrison), because he really got us back into shape and on track to do what we want to do.”
The work in between matches was demonstrated by the Warhorses’ ability to execute their game plan, Woolley added.
“Our movement was good and it felt like we clicked as a team and worked cooperatively,” he said.
That chemistry allowed Owen to overcome the aggressive Smoky Mountain defense.
“That’s a very physical team,” Woolley said. “Every time we tried to get the ball, they were right there on us, and that made us play better as a team. We had to be more decisive and play faster, because if we were too slow, we’d get tackled every time. Props to them for pushing us, they were working hard out there.”
Owen’s leading scorer reserved his highest praise for his teammates.
“We did such a good job of distributing the ball, and making space for everyone,” said Woolley, who has amassed 7 goals in three matches. “Every goal I was able to score tonight was because of our movement, as a team, so I want to give a lot of credit to my teammates.”
The Warhorses will travel to McDowell County, Thursday, Sept. 4, to face the Titans at 6 p.m.
“There is always work to do, and we can always improve,” Woolley said. “I’d like to see us work on getting a clean sheet next week and work on improving our overall structure as team. Overall, I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
Photos of Owen’s victory over Smoky Mountain can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.