Baylor School coach Curtis Blair MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Baylor School has played in 18 girls’ soccer state tournaments and won eight titles, but the last came in 2011 and the Lady Red Raiders won just four games last year.
The 2015 season concluded with a 2-1 loss to Briarcrest in the Division II-AA state championship game Saturday night at the Richard Siegel complex.
“The seniors put the program back on the map,” coach Curtis Blair said. “It’s now up to everybody else to continue building.”
The Lady Saints (18-2-1) claimed their program’s first state soccer championship.
“We’ve been so close,” said Briarcrest coach Alexis Boyd Heinz, whose team finished runner-up to Girls Preparatory School in 2014. “We’ve been waiting for everything to absolutely click.”
Briarcrest peppered Baylor freshman goalkeeper Peyton Randolph with a variety shots and other potential scoring opportunities. Randolph, who saved two of three penalty kicks in a semifinal victory, saved five shots on goal Saturday. She stared down 15 shot attempts from the Lady Saints.
“It was really busy,” Randolph said. “In the first half I was pretty nervous but said that I’ll keep giving it my all.”
Randolph couldn’t thwart every attack Briarcrest made.
“She kept us in the game, especially in the last 20 minutes,” Blair said. “She didn’t play like a freshman tonight.”
Briarcrest showed it was ready to attack by sending a pass across the face of the goal less than a minute into the game, but the Lady Raiders put their own scare into the Lady Saints when Kamryn Bloh weaved through two defenders only to hurry her shot and hook it left of the frame.
A precise shot by Briarcrest junior Taegan Allen broke the scoreless tie. Allen lined up a free kick from about 30 yards away and lofted it just over the fingertips of Randolph and under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead.
“They opened the gates and we were ready to go,” Heinz said. “We have a dangerous attack and a fast attack. Add wet conditions and we’re even harder to defend.”
Randolph stoned Brittany Hatmaker about six minutes into the second half by diving low and to the right. Four minutes later, Alyssa Neuberger sped by two Baylor players and juked left, juked back right and lined up her shot. Randolph attacked, shooting down the threat.
But Briarcrest’s next shot found the net. The Lady Saints took a 2-0 lead when Hatmaker buried a header off a corner kick with 31 minutes remaining.
Baylor did not fold. Lainee Bohannon cut Briarcrest’s lead in half with 6:31 left in the game. Bohannon took a pass from her right, inched closer to the net and scored off her left foot from less than 10 yards out.
“Last year we lost in the first round of the playoffs,” Bloh said. “This year we lost in the championship game and we lost in a fight.”
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.