Chattanooga Christian's senior soccer players are headed back to the state tournament.
CCS used a second-half spurt to defeat Hixson 3-0 in their Class A/AA sectional Saturday. It will be the Chargers' first Spring Fling appearance in Murfreesboro in four years.
"We have eight seniors, and for them it will be a repeat," said CCS coach David Stanton. "But for the rest of these guys it will be a new experience, so that will be good. That's fun."
The Chargers secured this week's berth with a potent second half, all three goals coming within a 10-minute stretch.
Porter Black controlled the midfield for most of the half, taking advantage of open spaces. In the third minute after halftime he slipped a pass to Will Patten, who struck it off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net to start the scoring.
"(At halftime) we just told them to relax. It was tournament jitters," Stanton said. "They weren't doing anything wrong. They just needed to relax."
Four minutes later Johnmark Duble streaked down the right side and sent a ball toward the far post, which initially looked like a cross. However, it floated just over the keeper's outstretched arm and found the back of the net.
River Sarratt finished off the scoring with a header off a cross from J. Michael Phebus.
"We played a great defensive first half. I was very pleased," Wildcats coach Jeff Dean said. "But once they got the momentum going in the second, we just couldn't hang."
Hixson held CCS scoreless in the first half, despite eight shots -- five on goal -- from the Chargers.
"The first half was a little scary," Stanton said. "We got some good looks, but they were fending them off. They were in the right spot at the right time and did a great job defending. Hixson also had some pokes at the goal themselves, which could have been very dangerous."
CCS took six more shots in the second half to keep the pressure on its opponents. With the heat wearing on players, the Chargers used depth and frequent substitutions to stay fresh. Hixson had limited chances in the second half but put two shots on the frame and kept the Chargers out of the goal for the final 27 minutes.
"We made it further than a lot of people thought this year," Dean said. "It's huge. Yeah, they're upset because they lost a game, but their confidence is through the roof, and that will do a lot for next year. We're losing just two senior starters."
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.