BHS girls soccer to state
Early 2-0 deficit dooms Farragut in substate clash
When head coach Ryan Radcliffe and his Bearden High School girls soccer team left Farragut Soccer Stadium last month, they did so with a non-district loss. Radcliffe made it no secret he was angry.
Radcliffe and the Lady Bulldogs returned to Farragut Saturday night, Oct. 21, with much more than mere Kingston Pike bragging rights at stake. Bearden left Farragut with a 2-0 Section 1-AAA victory over the Lady Admirals, netting the Lady Bulldogs a berth in this week’s state tournament in Murfreesboro.
“The girls got the point,” Radcliffe said. “It’s kind of been that kind of season. You really have to credit our seniors.
“This is the most goal-oriented group of seniors that I’ve had. ... We were tired and we were beat up. But we were still able to get it done. The first five minutes of the game, they were really taking it to us.”
Farragut’s early success, however, didn’t last. The Lady Bulldogs [15-6-2] seized control of the match and took an early 1-0 lead when sophomore forward Abby Brewer scored in the ninth minute.
Brewer wasn’t a factor in the regular-season matchup Sept. 21, as she left the game with an injury 10 minutes into the match. No one was able to provide offensive punch after Brewer exited and the Lady Bulldogs were tagged with a 1-0 loss.
““This definitely feels great to win this,” Brewer said. “Everyone was ready mentally and everyone gave it 200 percent.”
The loss snapped Farragut’s 16-game winning streak, as the Lady Admirals’ season ends 16-6.
“I talked to the girls about getting off to a fast start,” Radcliffe said. “They won 16 games in a row and they haven’t been scored on much during that time.
“They’re not used to being behind. We wanted to get ahead and see how they would respond.”
“This hurts,” FHS head coach Drew Payne said. “For the first time since the Bearden [Invitational], we weren’t able to possess the ball. They were the better team tonight.
“They took as out of our game. They made us play their game. And when we play that track-meet kind of soccer, we’re in trouble.”
The Lady Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead when Emily Carlevato tallied in the in the 15th minute.
Bearden senior goalkeeper Abby Mink was able to keep the Lady Ads at bay. “I’ve played soccer for the team for the past four years and it feels great to come here and win this game on our rival’s field,” Mink said. “I have to give a lot of credit to my defense. I do a lot of talking back there. But they definitely do most of the work.”
