As one of only three returning starters for a team that reached the state soccer tournament last spring, Signal Mountain senior midfielder Josh Patta appeared more impressed with the Eagles' flight back to the summit of District 7-A/AA than the two goals he scored Friday night against visiting Notre Dame.
Patta's conversion of two tight chances into goals matched the night of Notre Dame's Alex Buechler, who scored both Irish goals in a 2-2 draw.
With the tie, Signal Mountain finishes as the regular-season champ and top tournament seed with a 2-0-2 district mark. The tie was costly for Notre Dame, however, as the Irish finished with the same 2-1-1 record as Chattanooga Christian, which holds the second seed by virtue of defeating them last Friday.
The top two seeds earn automatic byes in the upcoming district tournament -- a playoff series that Patta and his teammates have been building toward all season.
"We've improved a lot since the Baylor game," Patta said of the season-opening loss. "We've really been working hard all season as a team, and I'm not surprised that we finished first. We've really come together. Now it's time for us to step up."
With his team trailing 1-0, Patta placed his stamp on the contest 34 minutes into the first half with a steal outside the Notre Dame penalty box, drilling home his first score. The senior gave the Eagles the lead 12 minutes into the second half by deflecting Jason Roth's perfect crossing pass with a header into the net.
Buechler, who had converted an excellent inside pass by Irish freshman Alex Tuttle for his first goal, provided the equalizer by scorching a 45-yard direct kick into the short side of the Eagles' net.
"I hadn't hit one of those since my middle school days, so it was good to score from there," Buechler said. "It was a little bittersweet, though, because we didn't get the win we needed for the district. We need to do well in the district tournament. That's what counts now."
"The team is working hard in practice, but we are still struggling in the games a bit," said Irish coach Jim Schermerhorn, whose team would have earned the regular-season title and top seed with a win Friday. "It was a back-and-forth battle, and overall I was pleased with the game. We've got some young guys, but they are coming along."
The Eagles' youth movement has been a season-long process, which included the fast maturing process of goalkeeper Griffin Palmer, who had never played soccer before the team's first practice this year.
"When you are getting a whole new group of guys, that can kill you," said Signal Mountain coach Richard Northcutt. "We only had three players who played last year and a goalie who had never played soccer before. I knew at the start it was going to be tough, but we kept improving. I knew by the time we played Chattanooga Christian and Notre Dame, we had to get better."
Contact Greg Thompson at sports@timesfreepress.com.