After Dawgs roll, Irish, goalkeeper hand Bearden first season loss
BEARDEN — As Knoxville Catholic High School sophomore goalkeeper Xander Levins was preparing to leave for his team’s match Saturday afternoon, April 5, he told his parents not to bother coming.
“I told my parents that they could just go ahead and run errands because I didn’t think I would get into the game,” Levins said. “I didn’t even have my shin guards, so I had to borrow some from one of my defenders.”
But fate dealt the Irish a blow when starting goalkeeper Tate McCarty was injured early in the first half.
New Irish head coach Josh Martin called on Levins — and he answered the bell.
He may have been scared a bit, but it certainly didn’t show as Levins went toe-to-toe with the state’s top-ranked team and the defending Class AAA state champion Bulldogs.
While his parents handled their weekend business, their son appeared in possibly the biggest match of his life, playing a vital role in a 1-0 Irish victory over the host Bulldogs at the Bearden Invitational on BHS’s Turner-Allender Field.
“When Tate went down, I knew I would be the one going in and I was scared to death,” Levins said.
He kept Bearden (9-1) at bay, as the two sides were locked in a 0-0 tie at halftime. Just when it seemed the game would in a scoreless draw, Catholic took a 1-0 lead on a goal by junior midfielder Jack Tucker in the 72nd minute.
The lead would hold for KCHS (4-3-1) thanks to a pair of big late saves by the Irish’s sophomore backup netminder.
Levins stoned Bearden’s Aidan Ainsworth on a penalty shot with 36.9 seconds remaining in the match.
“When that whistle blew, I was quaking,” Levins said. “My heart was pounding, but I guessed he was going to go left. I knew he was going to go left and he did.”
Levins also made one last save before time expired, preserving KCHS’s biggest victory of the season.
“This was really big for these kids,” Martin said. “This is the biggest win for us since I’ve been here.”
“An inconsistent performance,” BHS head coach Ryan Radcliffe said. “You have a really big win against a really good, strong Hendersonville team (4-0 the evening before). ... It was very disappointing that we couldn’t string together two good games in a row.
“... Hopefully it can be a wake-up call, but we’ll see,” the Dawgs coach added.
