Gatlinburg-Pittman’s boys soccer team defeated unbeaten Memphis Business Academy, 5-1, in the Class 1A state semifinals on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY DAVE LINK
MURFREESBORO – Maybe some people are surprised the Gatlinburg-Pittman boys’ soccer team is back in the Class A state tournament.
Not the Highlanders.
They’re on a mission to reach the state championship game for a fourth consecutive year – despite losing several starters from previous teams.
G-P (14-6-2) took another step Tuesday afternoon with a 5-1 quarterfinal victory over Memphis Business Academy at Siegel Soccer Complex.
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“I think everyone thinks we’re down,” G-P coach Zach Schrandt said. “We graduated seven senior four-year starters from last year and six four-year starters the year before that. This was supposed to be our ‘down year’, but the kids don’t seem to know that.
“They just keep fighting. It’s not as beautiful as the last few years, but who cares? We’re finding ways to win. I told them they remind me of the 2018 team. I think we opened with MBA in a 5-1 game that year. The kids are just overcoming things. It’s not beautiful to watch, but we are in the Final Four and I couldn’t be more proud.”
The Highlanders face Merrol Hyde on Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET in the state semifinals.
G-P won state in 2018 and was runner-up to Franklin Grace in 2019 and runner-up to Austin-East last year.
“Our kids kind of know what to expect,” Schrandt said. “Even though a lot of them haven’t play here, I think we expected to win this game. I think now it’s on to the next one. Our motto is “80 minutes,” and we’ll try to get 80 more minutes tomorrow. We’ll try to survive and advance one more time.”
Memphis Business (16-1-2) was making its third state appearance and fell to 0-3 at state.
G-P fell behind 1-0 when Memphis Business’s Jason Rivera scored in the 15th minute.
Cody Kihlburg tied it in the 34th minute with an unassisted goal.
It was still tied 1-all at halftime.
The Highlanders took the lead on Kihlberg’s penalty kick in the first minute of the second half.
Oscar Turcios made it 3-1 in the 63rd minute, and Carlos Turcios scored in the 70th minute for a 4-1 lead.
Erick Marcia-Chavez’s goal on a penalty kick put the Highlanders up 5-1 in the 72nd minute.
G-P had 24 shots to Memphis Business Academy’s six.
“We’re kind of like the Cardiac kids this year,” Schrandt said. “We get down, don’t play well and have to fight back. The kids just fight and claw to get back. It’s so similar to the 2018 team before we got on our run. It’s a team that’s probably overachieving for our level.
“I’m super proud and happy for them. We’re banged up. We have three players out for injuries for the year, who would have been starters and very good ones. To be here, everything at this point is icing on the cake. If we make it to Friday, great, if we don’t, we’re not going to cry. It’s been a great year and we’ve got a lot of kids coming back, so we’ll be OK.”
TORNADOES FALL, 3-2
Junior forward Donovan Pruitte posted a hat trick – including the game-winner playing with a man down – as Madison Magnet of Jackson defeated Alcoa 3-2.
The Tornadoes (11-7-2) were making their fourth state appearance.
“I felt like we played a pretty good match, but we could have finished a little better early on, maybe got another goal,” Alcoa coach Shane Corley said. “You’ve got to give them the credit in the attacking third. They were pretty solid and they moved well off the ball, which gave us some trouble.
“We thought we made some fixes at the half and we think we did. We were counting on them to tire a little bit, but even going a man down, they still kept pressure on, so you’ve got to give them credit.”
Jaden Dyar gave Alcoa a 1-0 lead in the 3rd minute.
Pruitte’s goal over the head of Alcoa keeper Jeremiah Hester tied it.
Alcoa took a 2-1 lead in the 17th minute on Jacob Baumann’s goal, but Pruitte’s goal tied it three minutes later.
It was still tied 2-all at halftime.
Madison Magnet’s Hazeem Razeq got a red card in the 56th minute, forcing his team to play a man down with only 10 players.
Pruitte scored the game-winner in the 71st minute.
“We knew (Pruitte) was a threat, someone we had to keep an eye on and watch,” Corley said. “We didn’t communicate his movements as well in the first half and that was the fix we were trying to take care of, make sure we tracked and communicated where (Pruitte) would be moving to.
“I felt early on, we did a better job with that, but obviously we got a little tired at the end and checked in a little. You can’t turn it off for a second in a match like this and that’s why we got beat.”
Madison Magnet (18-2) advances to Wednesday’s semifinals against STEM Prep Academy.
Alcoa loses three seniors off the 2022 team.
“This team had a really good season,” Corley said. “I’m very proud of how they did, but I think we left something on the table, and hopefully these guys will come back next year and be just as successful. We don’t lose a whole lot and I think they’ll respond pretty good.”