Bearden eliminates SoccerCats
All good things must come to an end.
The Oak Ridge High School boys soccer team saw its 2023 season reach that point with a 6-0 loss to Bearden in the Region 2-AAA Tournament semifinals on Wednesday, May 17, at Turner-Allender Field in West Knoxville.
The Wildcats finished their 2023 season with a 12-4-3 record.
Oak Ridge Coach Tom Gorman knew that things wouldn’t be easy for his squad against the Bulldogs, who would go on to win the region championship with a 3-1 win over Hardin Valley Academy Thursday, and advance to the Class AAA state tournament with a 2-0 win over Science Hill Saturday. The Bulldogs headed to Murfreesboro with a 17-0-3 record.
When Bearden took a 1-0 lead over the Wildcats, Gorman had hopes that his side could hang around.
But a solid effort from an offensive powerhouse program that has multiple state titles, and was state runner-up in 2022, would prove too much to overcome.
The Bulldogs were led on this night by senior Hayden Tate, who entered the season with something to prove as he was cut last season.
He recorded a hat trick against Oak Ridge and had 16 goals this season. Defensively, the Bulldogs surrendered just 10 goals this year, shutting out 11 of their opponents.
Tate gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute of the match before Daniel Kinney extended Bearden’s advantage to 2-0 approximately seven minutes later.
“That first goal was fantastic and we were hoping maybe we could stave them off for a little bit, but then they got the second one,” Gorman said. “Honestly, at that point, to be chasing two goals against a Bearden team is just a tall task.”
Tate scored in the 45th minute and completed his hat trick in the 53rd to make it 4-0.
Lucas Nordin and Lucas Ford closed out the scoring in the game.
Gorman said that Bearden could very well emerge from the Spring Fling as Class AAA state champions.
“I give them all the credit,” he said. “They’re definitely deserving of being one of the top teams in the state.
“I wouldn’t want to have to play them down the road as they get closer to state. They just get better and better and more motivated.”
