Piper Luhn and The Webb School of Knoxville Lady Spartans versus Knoxville Catholic on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (Photo by Danny Parker)
Webb School of Knoxville reaches first Division II-AA Championship
Lauren Newell and Piper Luhn aren’t your typical freshmen.
The pair showed that Thursday in the TSSAA Division II-AA state semifinals in Chattanooga.
Newell, the starting goalkeeper for the Webb Lady Spartans, constructed a clean sheet and made seven saves in Webb’s 1-0 win over Harpeth Hall — while midfielder Luhn got the match’s lone goal late in the first half.
Talk about coming through in the clutch — especially with senior forward and Texas commit Pearce Groer sidelined with a broken leg.
“Piper is a workhorse for us. She doesn’t come off the field,” Webb coach Elaine Roth told 5Star Preps. “I took her off the field one time in a regional game to give her a break and give her a breather, get her head right. And I had to put her right back on. She’s just so solid. Sees the field well. She wins tackles. She comes up with the ball. Not even a lot of upperclassmen can say that.
“And Lauren,” Roth added, “she made one save — I thought it was in (for a Harpeth Hall goal), to be honest with you, that went wide in the second half. But Lauren and Piper are very competitive. Lauren was very composed today. I see her growing and maturity and composure every game. They both came up big today.”
Roth, admittedly, was concerned with how her young team would handle the recent injury to Groer, especially with how subdued the team following their quarterfinal win Saturday. That was the day Groer got hurt. But the head coach sensed renewed focus and energy from her group in practices earlier this week. And Groer’s presence on the sideline Thursday at state helped, as well.
“I think it speaks to their chemistry,” Roth said. “They’re showing focus and concentration on the task at hand. This is the first time that we’ve gotten this far in program history.
“I tried to tell them at the end of the regional run that, ‘You have an opportunity to be special. Be special today.’ I think they really took that to heart.”
Webb (15-1-1) — in the state tournament for the first time for girls’ soccer — will play Chattanooga Baylor (17-4-2) at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Boyd-Buchanan in Chattanooga for the state championship.
Webb has beaten Baylor twice already this season: 1-0 on Sept. 12 and 2-1 on Oct. 12.
Defending state champion Baylor won its semifinal 1-0 Thursday, as well, over Lipscomb Academy.
Roth is expecting another tough matchup with Baylor, simply because of the familiarity factor.
“They’re like, ‘You’re not going to beat us three times.’ I think we definitely have the harder road. We’re not going to take (Baylor) for granted or underestimate them at all. I think we have a healthy respect for what they do and how they will challenge us. But, it’s really hard to beat someone three times in a season,” Roth said. “It’s hard to beat someone two times in a season, let alone a third.
“We’re just going to try to stay the course and take care of our challenges as they come and see if we can put together another win.”
BEARDEN LADY BULLDOGS down PAGE
to reach fourth Class AAA state championship in a row
In its quest to reach a fourth consecutive Class AAA state championship, Bearden struck first in their state semifinal win, posting a goal by Halle Bibee in the 33rd minute.
That score gave Bearden its 1-0 halftime lead.
But the Lady Bulldogs got a little more breathing room after the break thanks to a Maci Ritzman score in the 53rd minute.
Bibee’s second goal came with roughly 10 minutes left on a Ritzman assist but didn’t give Bearden its winning mark.
Kennedy Lucas headed in a goal late for the final 4-0 score.
Bearden (20-1-1) will play Saturday in the state championship game at 11 a.m. against Houston (21-0). The match will be played at Boyd-Buchanan.
Bearden beat Houston in their 2021 and 2022 state championship wins. Bearden beat Ravenwood in last year’s title game.
The Lady Bulldogs smothered Page’s chances Thursday with defense, limiting Page to two shots and no shots on goal.
Bearden logged 27 shots and 14 on goal. Page dropped to 16-6-2.
KINGSTON LADY YELLOW JACKETS
vs. Merrol Hyde
After reaching the state semifinals in 2023, Kingston hoped for a longer run at the state tournament this week.
But, unfortunately for the Lady Yellow Jackets, their season this time around met the same fate.
Merrol Hyde netted a goal with roughly 10 minutes left in the Class A state semifinal and that score held up for a 1-0 victory over Kingston.
Kingston finished the season 17-2-1 with a district championship, region championship and the program’s fourth state tournament berth.
Merrol Hyde, the state runner-up last season, advanced to its sixth state final in the last seven seasons.