Chattanooga: Lady Irish again fall in state semis

The scene felt painfully familiar to the Notre Dame girls’ soccer team.

Sitting stunned and speechless on the Chattanooga Christian School field, the Lady Irish again were left to wipe away tears when a fourth consecutive season ended with a loss in the Class A/AA state semifinals.

Thursday night’s game was a rematch of last year’s final four matchup with Franklin Road Academy, and the Lady Panthers again emerged victorious. They will play for the state championship Saturday after a 2-1 win over Notre Dame.

“I really don’t have much to say,” Lady Irish coach Jim Schermerhorn said after the loss. “Maybe our preparation wasn’t good enough.”

FRA (20-3-2) controlled much of the first half Thursday, and its work paid off with a goal 22 minutes into the match. Midfielder Kaitlyn Smith scored off a throw-in from Tory Pitts, but the Lady Irish responded with a goal a little more than two minutes later.

Carey Leiper headed a ball past the Lady Panthers defense, and Kris Cambron was there to finish the equalizer. The Lady Irish couldn’t build on their momentum, however, and with 6:35 remaining in the period, Smith found the back of the net again.

“Emotionally, that was huge for us,” FRA coach Ken McDonald said, “but we knew Notre Dame would be a handful in the second half, and they were. It was their whole team, but especially (Danielle Ciabattone) in the midfield and (Cambron) up top.”

The Lady Irish (17-5-1) had their share of dangerous opportunities in the second half, including two with the FRA keeper out, but freshman Mariah Canady also saved 10 shots to preserve the lead for her team. Notre Dame took the last of its 19 shots with 6.4 seconds left on the clock, but like several earlier attempts, it sailed harmlessly over the goal.

“This was another great FRA-Notre Dame battle,” McDonald said. “It’s always a one-goal game that goes down to the last whistle. Both teams played with a lot of heart.”

FRA will play for the state title at GPS on Saturday at noon against Christian Academy of Knoxville, which advanced by beating Christ Presbyterian Academy 6-0 Thursday at CCS. Brittany Hoffman scored twice for CAK (22-2-1), and Ruthie Edmunds, Paige Hoffman, Julie Thompson and Kayce Campbell had the other scores.

The Class AAA state championship at 2:30 p.m. Saturday will feature Brentwood and Siegel after both teams won semifinal matches Thursday at Baylor. Brentwood (21-3-1) defeated Dobyns-Bennett 1-0 on a goal from Dana Schwartz in the fourth minute, and it took a shootout to get Siegel (18-4-1) into the final.

The Lady Stars fell behind when Franklin’s Laurena Robinson scored in the 58th minute, but Tori Hawkins equalized four minutes later. Neither team could connect through two 10-minute overtimes and two five-minute sudden-death periods, but Siegel claimed a 5-4 advantage on penalty kicks.

Class A/AA state semifinal

At Chattanooga Christian

FRANKLIN ROAD ACADEMY 2, NOTRE DAME 1

Halftime score: 2-1. Goals: Kaitlyn Smith 2 (FRA); Kris Cambron (ND). Assists: Tory Pitts, Morgan Crofford (FRA); Carey Leiper (ND). Shots: Notre Dame, 19-10. Saves: Mariah Canady 10 (FRA). Records: FRA 20-3-2; Notre Dame 17-5-1.