Farragut defeats Raiders

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — On a field where dreams are made, the Cleveland soccer Blue Raiders saw theirs shattered Thursday night.

The top-ranked Raiders went head-to-head with more tournament-savvy Farragut, and it was the second-ranked Admirals who came out on top 2-0 in the semifinals of the TSSAA Class AAA tournament.

The Raiders (20-1-3) got off only one shot against the Farragut defense, whereas the Admirals kept keeper Adam Gonzales busy with 18 shots, 16 of which were saved by the two-time all-stater.

“We knew coming in that they were great on set pieces, and we gave them too many,” Cleveland coach John Brose said. “Their initial wave was tough, but we settled down and got into a back-and-forth with them. They are such a physical team that we knew we had to possess or they would run us ragged. We had some good opportunities but couldn’t finish. They kept coming with constant pressure, but our defense did a great job.”

Early in the second half, the Admirals thought they had scored, but a goal by Carlos Ramos was waved off. Fourteen minutes later, Brandon Klarner attempted a cross from 40 yards out that turned into a shot and deflected off Gonzales’ outstretched hands.

“The second half was the same — they came with that wave,” Brose said. “I thought we were through it, but there was nothing Adam could have done about that shot.”

Even with a one-goal advantage, Farragut (22-2-2) kept coming. At the 15:25 mark of the second half, Wayman McLaughlin headed a shot in over Gonzales to make it 2-0.

“Honestly, I thought we played well,” Brose said. “Last night we didn’t play our best, but we made a complete 180 and played both well and disciplined. Farragut is a great team. It was nothing our guys did to give them the game; they just earned it. All the credit goes to the kids and the work they put into the program.”

The Raiders accomplished a No. 5 national ranking by ESPN and the school’s first top state ranking. They will lose nine seniors.

“This season has been unreal,” Brose said. “The destination was not what we wanted, but we enjoyed the journey. I watched these kids grow from middle school until now, and we had such a special season — the best in school history. These guys truly played as a team and we had super success. I’m not disappointed; we’re in the state semifinals with Farragut, Brentwood and Bearden — all teams that have won state titles — but I knew we could make some noise as well.

“I thought we could go further, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes. This has been such a special senior class, and I’m going to miss them so much.”