The Webb-Knoxville Spartans faced the Grace-Franklin Lions in the TSSAA Division II-A state championship on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Webb won 1-0. (Photo by Danny Parker)
By DAVE LINK
MURFREESBORO – Coach Jared Ziegler had the happiest birthday of his life Thursday, thanks to his players on the Webb School of Knoxville boys’ soccer team.
Ziegler, 34, celebrated the Spartans’ winning the Division II-A state championship after a 1-0 victory over Franklin’s Grace Christian Academy at Siegel Soccer Complex.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Ziegler said of his best birthday. “The only thing that’s going to top it is my wife is going to giving birth to a little girl in about a month and a half. It won’t be my birthday, but it will be the birthday of my daughter, so that will be a better day than this one, for sure.”
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Webb (20-0) completed a perfect season that included victories over Bearden, Farragut, West, Maryville, and Catholic, and did so in front of a crowd heavily favoring Grace (20-2-1).
“They had a zillion fans,” Ziegler said. “We had our Spartan few. We said let them make all the noise they want. We believe in each other, even if we’re fewer in numbers.”
The Spartans’ lone goal in the final came on a penalty kick by junior Ben Pensky, the team’s leading scorer.
It came in the 18th minute when Webb junior Garrett Webb attempted a shot over Grace senior keeper Kytn Wolf, who got a yellow card on the play.
TSSAA officials said the penalty was called because Wolf made the play on Garrett Webb – taking his legs out from under him – instead of playing the ball.
“My boy Pierce Miller ran across the right wing and played a perfect ball across the middle,” Webb said. “I saw the goalie coming out so I went to flick it over him. When I went to flick it, he just took out my knee. The ball didn’t quite get to the goal but we earned a PK from it.”
Webb was shaken up and went to the sideline when Pensky took the penalty shot and put it in the top left corner of the net past the backup keeper, senior Alexis Merci Dieu, who played the rest of the game in place of Wolf.
“I saw Ben taking (the penalty kick),” Webb said. “I was sure he’d make it, but I was still dizzy from my collision, but I watched him take it and he put it in, and I was excited.”
Webb rode the play of its defense and sophomore keeper Nathan Pope for the rest of the game.
“I was a little nervous going into the half at 1-0,” Pope said. “One goal can turn it right around, but we kept it solid on the back line and didn’t let anything in.”
Webb missed a couple of chances to extend the lead in the second half.
Senior Marcus Orton took a header that went off the right post in the 52nd minute and took a shot that bounced off the crossbar in the 68th minute.
Ziegler figured one goal could win the match.
“That’s the way a final is,” he said. “We talked about it, being the best two teams here. They fought tooth and nail. They played great defense, and it really truly was a game of inches. If that keeper’s a little bit quicker off his line, he makes a save, we don’t have a penalty chance, we’re going to overtime.
“We’re cramping all over the place, which surprised me because this group is fit. We’ve been at it all year hard. We were cramping up. I think overtime would have been difficult for us to weather, but I felt if we kept playing the way we were capable of, we could find a win.”
Pensky went to the bench with cramps for several minutes with 14 minutes, 19 seconds left to play.
Grace’s last good shot at Pope came with 1:27 left when Sam Barrionuevo drilled a shot that was caught by the Webb keeper.
“That’s the biggest moment you can put a sophomore keeper in, and he’s been in some tough moments,” Ziegler said. “That’s by far the best game that he’s played this year. He came in in a really tough spot against Farragut (on April 5) when (starting keeper) Hasan (Alizoti) got hurt and we’re down 1-0. Some of the first minutes of his high school career, (Pope) gets a win against Farragut, a win against Bearden, and a win against The King’s Academy in the same week. He’s had his moments when he hasn’t been brilliant, but we believed in him.”
Ziegler gave credit to Alizoti for his attitude once Pope became the starting keeper.
“He’s a senior, and he sucked up not playing after he came back and was healthy,” Ziegler said. “When they’re right there, they’re both even, but this team was responding well with Nathan behind him, and Hasan didn’t hang his head. He didn’t say, ‘Woe is me.’ He said, ‘I’m gonna cheer as loud as I can for Nathan and for this team,’ and he did that all year.
“The belief that Hasan put in this team and in Nathan helped him have an unreal game today. He was sharp. He was really sharp. He made good decisions. He was up in the crowds. He held a few balls that were absolutely lashed at him. (Pope) played the best game I’ve seen him play in his career.”
Webb won its fourth state title in boys’ soccer and its third under Ziegler, who won back-to-back championships in his first two seasons, 2015 and ’16.
Ziegler said Thursday’s title was special because of the contributions from all his players.
“We talk about it all the time, everybody on the roster, even the JV guys that aren’t here,” Ziegler said. “This is the most number of players we’ve had come out for Webb soccer since I’ve been around. I think we have 45 guys total on our roster, and there’s so many that can flat out play.
“We had to make some really tough decisions in preseason of who’s going to be on what team, but it’s everybody. Everybody made this program the way that it is, and even if you’re not playing any minutes, you have an impact and effect on the way you treat your teammates and pumping them up for matches.”
5STAR PHOTOS: Webb School of Knoxville wins Division II-A soccer, presented by Cooper Container