MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Tears were shed on the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex's Stadium Field as terrific careers for five Boyd Buchanan seniors came to an end in the TSSAA Division II-A state final Thursday night.
For the second year in a row, the Buccaneers fell 3-0 in the championship match as Lausanne Collegiate School scored twice in the opening four minutes to win the third state title in program history. The Lynx finished 15-1-1 overall.
Boyd Buchanan's senior class of Hutch Healy, Triston McCurdy, Matt Stone, Matthew Thomae and Mills Wood were stout over the three years of playing time they enjoyed together. While they were robbed of their freshman season in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic, they helped the Bucs reach the Spring Fling for the final four in all three seasons.
Over those three years, they helped compile a 49-10-2 record.
Staff photo by Patrick MacCoon / Boyd Buchanan's Emory Gravitt (0) embraces senior teammate Matt Stone after the Buccaneers' 3-0 loss to Lausanne Collegiate in the TSSAA Division II-A boys' soccer final on Thursday night in Murfreesboro, Tenn.After outshooting Lausanne 15-8 on Thursday, Bucs coach Dustin Walker walked to every player and embraced his team in a tough moment.
"I am so proud of you," Walker told them. "So, so proud and thankful for this team. It is all right to be upset, but be proud of the great season you all had together. You all are a family. Our word for the season was relentless, and we lived up to that.
"I love every single one of you. My heart hurts and I want to cry, not because we lost but because you all mean so much to me. Continue to lift one another up, because there are people hurting more than you are right now in this world."
Boyd Buchanan finished with a 17-3-1 overall record, and Wood scored nearly 30 goals to lead the team. Healy, Stone and Thomae also provided stellar defense for the Bucs, who were able to make the title match after a pair of back-to-back 1-0 victories over St. George's in the quarterfinals and on Wednesday against Bell Buckle's Webb School in the semifinals.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.