MURFREESBORO — Gybson Roth’s goal midway through the second half was all defending Class AAA champ Clarksville needed as the Lady Wildcats dropped Hardin Valley 1-0 in a state quarterfinal game Thursday afternoon at Siegel Soccer Complex.
“We chose to go uphill in the first half and it wore us out,” Clarksville coach Jeff Jordan said. “Our midfield was tired and nearly worn out at the beginning of the second half. I’ve learned my lesson on this field in other games many times before. You have to play to this field’s slight uphill lean. I wanted to go into the hill while the team was fresh and go down it in the second half.”
It was a game dominated by defense and midfield play. Hardin Valley (16-4-2) frustrated Clarksville as the Lady Wildcats had only three possessions in its attacking third the first 40 minutes.
But Salera Jordan found a brief opening 40 yards from the net with freshman Madison Allen, senior Lexie Hayes and Roth on the wings. Salera booted the ball to Roth, who spun and drilled a shot high side, over the head of Hardin Valley keeper Bridget Sartorelli for the 1-0 lead with 24:11 left.
Clarksville’s Madison Allen (9) and Tennessee Barkalow (7) double up on a Hardin Valley player during the first half of their Class AAA state quarterfinal game Thursday in Murfreesboro. Clarksville advanced to Friday’s semifinal with a 1-0 victory.
“It was mostly defense for us,” Jeff Jordan said. “We wanted to make it a defensive game if we could. We played a little ragged, which is not my style, but we’ll take it. Right now, it’s about the result and we won so I’ll take it.”
The Lady Wildcats (22-4) will face Collierville at 7 p.m. Friday in the semifinals.
Page advances to semis: Page used three goals in eight minutes to beat Jackson Christian 3-0 in the Class A/AA quarterfinals.
“I don’t know what was wrong in the first half,” Page coach Nate Clapp said. “It might have been nerves, but I told them to do what we have practiced. If we could do the simple things, we could take control.”
Page (16-6-2) advances to play Greeneville (23-2) in the semifinals on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Greeneville beat Notre Dame 6-0.
After an evenly played first half, the Lady Patriots came out with more intensity in the second half.
In the 47th minute, Page took the 1-0 lead. Caitlyn Sutton took a free kick from 30 yards out that was saved, but not covered and Megan Henry put in the rebound.
The Lady Patriots scored two more goals quickly as Kendal Webb scored on an assist from Halli Collins in the 54th minute, and Henry scored her second goal one minute later on a defensive giveaway.
“We knew space was available, but we weren’t working with our teammates,” Klapp said. “We changed that in the second half.”
CPA loses in OT: Christ Presbyterian Academy lost 1-0 to Chattanooga Christian in the Class A/AA quarterfinals.
The District 12 A-AA and Region 6 A-AA champion Lady Lions (16-3-1) battled the Lady Chargers to 0-0 in regulation and extra time, but ultimately lost in penalty kicks by a 3-2 margin.
CPA junior midfielder Emma Grace Barton (29) fires a shot on goal during the first half of Thursday’s Class A/AA quarterfinal match against Chattanooga Christian.
“I knew this was going to be a solid team with solid tactics and solid technique,” CPA coach Tom Gerlach. “Coach Cal (Sneller) does a great job, and I came in thinking if we lose, we’re losing to a quality team.”
CPA was without one of its top players in Kara Wagner, who had per appendix removed on Wednesday. The Lady Lions finished with nine shots on goal — four of which came from senior forward Emma Grace Barton — but CCS’ starting goalkeeper Marissa Lewis turned away each one.
Molley Thorne and Madeline Littlejohn both connected on their penalty kicks for the Lady Lions, but Chattanooga Christian freshman goalkeeper Kate Dirkse, who was inserted in goal for penalty kicks, turned away attempts from Carli Cone, Olivia Ball and Joy Morgan Myers.
Goalkeeper Catie Collins Smith finished with five saves for the Lady Lions.
Chattanooga Christian will square off with Christian Academy of Knoxville in Friday’s 6:30 p.m. semifinal.
Hendersonville blanked: Hendersonville had no answers for Houston’s high-powered attack, as the Lady Mustangs scored twice in the first six minutes in handing the Lady Commandos a 5-0 loss in a Class AAA quarterfinal.
Jillian Hildreth scored both of Houston’s early goals as the Lady Mustangs led 2-0 at the half.
Hendersonville sophomore Brooke Long (21) battles for possession with Houston sophomore Bailey Rose during first-half action at the Class AAA State Soccer Tournament Thursday. Houston won 5-0.
“It’s very difficult to simulate what Houston does in training,” Hendersonville coach Russ Plummer said. “We tried to go right at them, but trying to simulate their speed, their strength and their size, you just can’t do it.”
Hendersonville had a chance to cut the lead in half late in the first half, but Houston goalkeeper Kaylee Hammer stopped Sydney Cason’s penalty kick with a diving save to her right.
It was Hendersonville’s first state tournament appearance since 2006.
Lady Falcons ousted: Lincoln County saw its first trip to the state tournament end after just one game as Maryville, also making its first appearance, outplayed the Lady Falcons and cruised to a 2-0 win in Class AAA.
“Man, they outplayed us all night,” Lincoln County coach Roger LePlante said. “They beat us to the ball, they worked harder than we did and they just seemed a little bit fresher out there.”
Where Lincoln County (15-5-1) looked slow, Maryville (17-5-2) was fast with fresh legs from its freshmen.
Freshman Emma Rice gave the Lady Rebels a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute to secure a first-half lead, then fellow freshman Grace Oliver found the back of the net in the 50th to put things out of reach.
Cookeville senior midfielder Andrea Ramirez (middle) clears the ball upfield during Thursday’s Class AAA quarterfinal match against Collierville.
Cookeville falls: Cookeville was searching for its first state soccer tournament win, but it ran into a Collierville team making its 10th appearance and fell 1-0 in overtime in Class AAA.
Cookeville (17-4-2) managed just three shots on goal, but its defense was able to stifle any Collierville (15-4-1) attack for most of the game.
The Lady Dragons finally broke through on their 15th shot of the game in the first overtime when freshman Elizabeth Slavinsky found the back of the net.
Gannett Tennessee’s Michael Murphy, Sam Brown, George Robinson, Chris Brooks and Michael Odom contributed to this report.