Bearden won its first Class AAA state title since 2016 on Friday. (Photo: Danny Parker).
MURFREESBORO – After another cruel rejection, Bearden High’s Collin Lewis walked off the Siegel Stadium field early Friday evening on good terms with penalty kicks.
He didn’t walk alone.
The Bulldogs were a picture of poise, converting all four of their penalty attempts to beat two-time defending state champion Station Camp 4-3 in the overtime exercise that decided the Class AAA state soccer championship. Goalie Holden Giesecke made a save on one of the Bisons’ attempts and their fifth kick hit the crossbar, touching off a joyous celebration.
The championship was the fifth for Bearden (21-3) and their first since 2016. Ryan Radcliffe won his second as a coach. He also won one as a player.
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The teams traded goals in regulation with Caleb Wilkins scoring for Bearden in the first half. They played four overtime sessions before entering the penalty kick pressure cooker.
Lewis was the second Bulldog to take the long walk from midfield to the penalty spot with a championship on the line. The senior still was feeling the effects of a collision with Station Camp goalkeeper TC Craig at the end of regulation. He also was wrestling with the memory of hitting the crossbar on a penalty kick in the second half, missing a chance to possibly prevent all the final drama.
He was stopped on a PK in Bearden’s semifinal win over Brentwood on Wednesday. He made amends on that occasion with a clutch goal off a free kick in the second overtime.
After Friday’s regulation miss, Lewis said that he asked his teammates “Do you guys want me to take this kick?”
“Because I messed up. I owned up to that,” he said. “They put their arms around me and they said ‘You got us here. You’ve got to take this.”
Lewis buried his shot in the left side of the net.
“Honestly, PKs are by far my least favorite part about soccer,” Lewis said. “Anything can happen. PKs were not nice to me the last couple days but I ended on a good note.”
Wilkins, Finn Harrison and Carter Turner were the other Bearden players to convert. Giesecke’s save came on Station Camp’s third attempt. He dove to his left, stretched out and knocked away Spencer Miller’s low kick.
“I told them they work their (butts) off, it’s my turn to show up for them,” he said. “I’m just glad I made a save.”
He credited the moment to good guesswork and “just a gut feeling.”
Radcliffe credited the championship to an intangible quality related to another part of the anatomy.
“Would I say we’re necessarily the most talented team? By all means no,” he said. “I would say this team has some big hearts and that goes a long way.”