By JESSE SMITHEY
Four area teams — Alcoa, Greeneville, Gibbs and Bearden — trekked to Chattanooga to begin first-round play in the 2021 TSSAA Girls Soccer State Tournaments.
Here’s how they fared and which teams moved on to Thursday’s semifinals …
TOP-RANKED BEARDEN ADVANCES
Bearden came to Chattanooga with an unbeaten record and a No. 1 national ranking, according to the United Soccer Coaches poll.
Those credentials don’t guarantee wins at state, though. The Lady Bulldogs knew they’d have to be earned this week — especially if they are to eventually win the program’s first state title since repeating in 2006 and 2007.
Brinley Murphy (7) of the Bearden Bulldogs. (Photo by Danny Parker)
Bearden (21-0-1) sure played with purpose and intent Wednesday, scoring a 5-0 win over Nolensville in the Class AAA state quarterfinals.
Kaylin Scott’s goal in the 12th minute set the tone early. Liv Stott’s corner kick in the 17th minute bounded off a Nolensville player and into the net for a 2-0 advantage.
But when South Carolina commit and junior forward Brinley Murphy scored off a pass from Sarah Altshuler in the 59th minute, Bearden took firm control of the match against the Knights — who were in their first season in Class AAA after spending the 2016-2020 campaigns in Class AA. They were state runners-up in Class AA in 2019.
The Knights couldn’t bottle up Bearden nor mount a comeback, either.
Bearden finished with 10 shots on goal to Nolensville’s one.
Bre Mendoza and Kenslie Myers added the final punctuation marks in Bearden’s win over Nolensville with goals in the 77th and 79th minutes, respectively.
Bearden will take on Collierville (15-1-1) in Thursday’s 6:30 p.m. Eastern semifinal at Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga.
Collierville eliminated McMinn County by a 3-1 final on Wednesday. Collierville and Bearden last met in the postseason during the 2018 state semifinals, won 1-0 by Collierville.
ALCOA EVOKES MERCY RULE
The Lady Tornadoes girls’ soccer program entered this week’s Class A state tournament having never lost a first-round state quarterfinal.
And that trend continued with ease on Wednesday.
Alcoa routed Crosstown, 9-0, and prompted the TSSAA’s mercy rule, which essentially ended the game early after 47 minutes, 18 seconds of play.
Charlotte Tymon scored five goals, giving her 32 now on the season (per the Maryville Daily Times).
Kaleea Scales had two goals and two assists. Wendy Beristain also scored two goals, and Annalise Erhart logged two assists.
Alcoa (13-6-1), in its fifth consecutive state tournament appearance and fifth appearance overall, has made it to at least the semifinals for a fifth consecutive year.
But to get to the state final like the Lady Tornadoes did in 2017 (state champion) and 2019 (runner-up), they’ll have to get through Chattanooga School for Arts & Sciences (CSAS).
Alcoa will take on CSAS (15-3-2) at 4 p.m. Eastern on Thursday at Chattanooga Baylor. CSAS eliminated Madison Magnet (11-3-1) by a 3-0 count on Wednesday.
GREENEVILLE COASTS IN FIRST STEP
They had the worst record this week among the Class AA state tournament qualifiers, but the Greeneville Lady Greene Devils were still the two-time defending state champions.
And they played like it Wednesday.
Greeneville (15-8) coasted by Dyersburg, 5-0, in a state quarterfinal played at Chattanooga Christian. Anne Konieczny scored two goals and Skylar Mitchell, Kaitlyn Adkins and Breanna Gash scored a goal apiece.
Anna Shaw had two assists in the win for Greeneville, which outshot Dyersburg 32-5 on Wednesday.
Next up, Greeneville will face Page (18-3-1) in a semifinal at 4 p.m. Thursday at Chattanooga Christian. Page defeated Signal Mountain, 4-1, on Wednesday.
Should Greeneville win state again this week, it’ll be the program’s fifth state title in seven years.
GIBBS COMES UP SHORT
Experience won out in this one, but just barely.
Murfreesboro Central Magnet (16-4), which was making its third consecutive state tournament appearance, topped newcomer Gibbs by a 1-0 final mark.
Gibbs (21-1) had its undefeated and historical season come to an end.
Gibbs fell behind in the 57th minute but got just two shots on goal beyond that point to try and knot the score. A shot by Carolina Pittman — 30 seconds after Central scored — was saved and then a shot by senior Macy Leadbetter in the 65th minute was blocked. Gibbs had three shots on goal, total, on Wednesday.
Still, the Lady Eagles’ program continued its program climb this fall. After making sectional appearances in 2019 and 2020, they finally broke through and made the state-tournament field.
Will there be a repeat trip in 2022?
Standout forward Carolina Pittman, who scored the 100th goal of her career in the district-tournament championship win over Halls, returns next season.
However, there will be some new pieces next fall. Six of the 12 players listed on Gibbs’ state tournament roster were seniors, including keeper Lydia Adkins, forward Rylee Scraggs and defender Megan Derusha.