Seniors from the Hardin Valley Academy boys soccer team celebrate the 2025 Class AAA state championship win, 4-3, over Bartlett on Friday, May 23, at Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY DAVE LINK
MURFREESBORO — Hardin Valley Academy’s soccer team put the finishing touches on its dream season Friday afternoon at Richard Siegel Soccer Stadium.
Senior forward Ben Brophy scored in the 77th minute, lifting the Hawks to a 4-3 victory over Bartlett of Shelby County in the Class AAA state championship match.
Brophy’s goal was the 80th of his career and broke the program record of 79 set by Cameron Schneider, a 2015 graduate.
HVA (19-3-3) won its second state soccer championship. Its first came in 2011.
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Brophy said the Hawks were motivated for more than a year by a 4-2 loss to Johnson City Science Hill in the 2024 sectionals, which kept them out of the state tournament.
“I felt like we were going to win this from the beginning (of the season),” Brophy said. “Even the losses, that just pushed us further toward this because we just came back harder and stronger.
“I believed that we were going to win this once we lost that (sectional) game last year. I knew we were going to come back stronger and win this whole thing.”
HVA junior defender Asher Stimson scored two goals and was awarded MVP of the championship match
Stimson has a scorer’s mindset despite playing an outside defender’s position.
“I just get in the attack,” Stimson said. “Coach (Ray Dover) doesn’t like it sometimes, but I’ve still got to get up there sometimes.”
Dover was fine with it Friday against Bartlett (18-2-2)
“We tell the guys that are in the defensive positions to pick their moments and have the game IQ and be aware of what’s going on,” Dover said, “and when it’s on like that, the ball gets switched to (Stimson), one goal was off a direct kick and one got switched to him, he’s got carte blanche to go for it, and we want that to happen. He picked his moments.”
Stimson has one of the strongest shots on the team.
“We know that he can hit absolute missiles off his foot,” Dover said, “him and probably about two other guys on the team who can hit it like he can. He’s just got a great strike.”
The Hawks won the state title with another comeback, trailing Bartlett 1-0 after a goal by Mihezagiro Lewis in the 10th minute.
HVA rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the last 25 minutes and beat defending state champion Bearden 3-2 in Wednesday’s state quarterfinals.
“This was a microcosm of who they are and the whole season, too,” Dover said, “because this wasn’t the first time we were down, and these guys just had two come-from-behind victories in three games in the state tournament, so they earned it.
“They wanted it. Sometimes when you get to this point, it’s about who wants it more. They’re really a great, coachable group, and I was just privileged to be able to coach them.”
Stimson tied it 1-1 in the 16th minute.
Senior defender Frankie Manrod had a direct kick, and instead of shooting at the goal, rolled the ball to Stimson for the shot.
And Stimson drilled it past goalkeeper Hayden Staten.
“We called it from the bench,” Dover said. “We said, ‘Frankie, just play it to him. They’re sitting off him,’ and (Stimson) just ran in and tagged it.”
Stimson made it 2-1 when he scored in the 23rd minute from about 25 yards off an assist by Gavin Standefer.
“I was in the midfield,” Stimson said. “I just beat the defender, saw space, took the shot and it went in.”
Bartlett tied it 2-2 in the 36th minute.
Max Steele scored off a corner kick by Maddox Terwilliger.
It remained tied 2-2 at halftime when HVA had seven shots to Bartlett’s eight shots.
Nate Holbrook gave the Hawks a 3-2 lead in the 48th minute, knocking a left-footed shot from about 12 yards past Staten off an assist by Brophy.
As the minutes ticked off the game clock, the Hawks inched toward their second state title.
Bartlett, however, tied the match 3-3 with 4 minutes and 25 seconds left to play.
Arturo Ramirez scored an unassisted goal, firing a shot from about 20 yards past senior goalie Adam Leonard.
“I does (stink) when you’re that close and they tie it up,” Brophy said, “but it’s happened before. We’ve just got to keep playing hard and just hope we can score another one and take it home, and that’s what we did. Just never give up.”
Brophy, a Maryville College commit, scored the winning goal 2 minutes after Bartlett tied the match 3-3. He doesn’t recall who made a touch pass to him, but he got one and rifled a shot he estimated to be from “a good 30, 40 yards.”
“I got the touch pass,” Brophy said. “I saw the keeper was on his line, so I just had to rip it. It had a good bounce and it went right over his hands and went in. I just tried to hit it as hard as I could.”
After that, the Hawks ran out the clock and began their celebration.
Bartlett finished with 18 shots to HVA’s 13 shots.
Leonard, who’s signed to play for Belmont, made five saves, and Bartlett’s Staten made five saves.
Dover said his team showed its resilience, starting with the loss to Science Hill in the 2024 sectional match.
“This team’s got more battle scars than last year’s group,” Dover said. “There were a lot of guys coming back from last year’s group, and I think the loss in the sectional match carried (over).
“There’s a reason that the rear-view mirror is smaller than the windshield (mirror). We didn’t look back too much, but we remembered why and what happened in that, and we were looking forward to this moment. I think these guys had it circled.”
The Hawks won their third match in three days with the championship victory.
“We’re exhausted, but we left everything out there, and that’s what we had to do,” Brophy said. “Now it’s time to rest, and we did it, so we can go home happy now.”