Soccer: Hardin Valley, regional champ, plays defending state champion Thursday

Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today

Note: This story was updated at 2:03 p.m.

HARDIN VALLEY—Hardin Valley will play defending state champion Clarksville on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the state soccer championship in Murfreesboro.

Update: The soccer tournament had originally been scheduled to start on Wednesday, but the start has been delayed by one day after heavy rain “for the safety of the athletes and the preservation of the fields for further use during the tournament,” officials said Wednesday.

It’s the second consecutive trip to the Class AAA state tournament for the Lady Hawks (16-3-2). Last year, they lost to Ravenwood 4-1 in the first round.

Hardin Valley, the Region 2 champion, beat Tennessee High of Kingsport 2-0 in a sectional game on Saturday to advance to the state tournament. Tennessee was the Region 1 runner-up.

Scoring for Hardin Valley after a scoreless first half on Saturday were Macey Lindsey on a crossing pass from Jaclyn Denton and Gwen Breslin on a pass from Reagan Ely.

“In the second half, we came out a bit faster,” Hardin Valley Coach Mark Patterson said.

Also last week, the Lady Hawks defeated Maryville 2-0 in the Region 2 championship and eliminated Oak Ridge 2-0 in the regional semifinal.

The Thursday quarterfinal starts at 5 p.m. Eastern at Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro. The winner will face the victor of the Collierville/Cookeville quarterfinal game in a semifinal game at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on Friday. (See the Class AAA bracket here.)

Clarksville is led by reigning Tennessean Girls Player of the Year Salera Jordan, and the Lady Wildcats are District 10-AAA and Region 5-AAA champions this year.

The Class AAA championship game is Saturday. Maryville also advanced to the state tournament, beating Science Hill 1-0 in a state sectional on Sunday.

Hardin Valley has had 12 shutouts this year, including four in its last four games and five in its six postseason games.

“If you don’t concede, you’re always going to win,” Patterson said. He has said that senior defenders Kelsey Klett and Dominque Rowe, are among the best defenders in the region. But the quality of competition will be higher at the state tournament, Patterson said.

Also playing in the state tournament, in Class A/AA, is Christian Academy of Knoxville (18-4). CAK will take on Lexington (15-4-2) at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on Thursday in another quarterfinal game.

See a preview of the playoffs on the Tennessean website here.

Here is a note about the postponement from the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.

Our staff just met with the grounds crew at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex to survey the conditions of the fields following several days of heavy rain in the area. For the safety of the athletes and the preservation of the fields for further use during the tournament, we have decided to postpone the start of the tournament by one day. Class A-AA and AAA will play their quarterfinal games at their originally scheduled time on Thursday, October 29. Semifinals for all divisions will be played on Friday, October 30, with the championship games on Saturday, October 31. Game times for Saturday are subject to change. This should not affect the Friday schedules for the Division II Class A and AA tournaments.

We will be posting updated schedules and brackets on our website. The assigned playing field within the complex are subject to change based on which fields are in the best condition at your game time.

Below are pictures from the Saturday evening game between Hardin Valley and Tennessee.

More information will be added as it becomes available.