Young Dawgs face early test
The Bearden High School girls soccer team is in the final stages of preparation for the upcoming 2026 season.
The Lady Bulldogs will open the new campaign and defense of their Class AAA state championship with a tough road game against Oak Ridge on Thursday, Aug. 20. There, they’ll look to avenge on of their 2025 losses.
Kickoff between Bearden and the Lady Wildcats is slated for 7 p.m.
Bearden will be significantly younger on the pitch than it has been in past seasons as a talented crop of freshmen enters the fray but coach Ryan Radcliffe, who enters his 13th season at the helm for the Lady Bulldogs, isn’t going to let the team use its youth as a crutch.
“We play Oak Ridge and that’s a tough game to start and then we go to Memphis where we’re going to play Houston and Collierville, so I’m not giving them time to get their feet under them,” Radcliffe said.
And he just can’t afford to.
Bearden traditionally plays one of the area’s most difficult schedules, including a District 4-AAA slate that features some of the Volunteer State’s heaviest hitters.
Once they begin league play, the Lady Bulldogs will play the likes of Farragut, Hardin Valley Academy, Knoxville West and Maryville. Any of those teams are capable of making deep postseason runs. Meanwhile, William Blount and Lenoir City also could be dangerous.
Bearden may have some new faces in the program but Radcliffe isn’t doing anything out of the ordinary in 2026.
“For me, I’m going to play whoever is ready to play,”
he said. “I’ve never shied away, from that, shied away from freshmen when they’re ready.
“Last year, we lost three four-year starters, and I’m going to play whoever is ready to play.”
Top returners for the Lady Bulldogs include: Sophie Keener (a senior goalkeeper who is recovering from an ACL injury but is looking to return at some point this year); Tyler Cope (junior, defender); Kennedy Lucas (senior, midfielder); Cali Motley (senior, midfielder); Madi Bowlin (senior, forward), Brooklyn Major (senior, forward); Ella Hudson (senior, defender); Hannah Nye (a sophomore midfielder who played sparingly last season) and Aliyah Sellew (a junior defender who also saw limited time last season).
The key newcomers are from what Radcliffe calls “the best freshmen class that we’ve ever had.”
The rookies include: Fallyn Baker (goalkeeper); Reese Underwood (midfielder); Brooklyn Sipos (defender); Madelyn Nowinski (midfielder) and Avery Stevens (forward).
“We have experience and depth, but the biggest thing for is the challenge of getting our freshmen to mold and fit in to our system and into the mindset of our program,” Radcliffe said.
“Our biggest concern is
going to be who’s going to score. We had 87 goals last year and (graduates) Jayla Blue and Tyler Roth scored 50 of them.”
