HIGH SCHOOL

State girls soccer powers Siegel, Franklin end in tie

Will Borthick
wborthick@dnj.com

MURFREESBORO – Two of the Midstate's best girls soccer teams squared off Thursday night but everyone in attendance at Ken Nolan Stadium left without knowing which squad was better.

Siegel and Franklin High played to a 2-2 tie in a matchup that featured two of Middle Tennessee's favorites to reach the Class AAA state tournament in late-October.

The Lady Stars trailed twice in the game at 1-0 and 2-1 but still managed to squeeze out a draw in the back-and-forth contest.

"The equalizing goal the first time got us amped up, it really got us going," said Siegel defender Taylor Ryan, who Lady Stars coach Eric Shelton said was his team's player of the game. "(The second one) it was adrenaline I guess."

"Being able to equalize with Franklin shows people some things about this team."

Franklin's Delaney Griffin put the Lady Rebels in front for the second time in the 42nd minute – just two minutes into the second half – on a soft goal that trickled past Siegel goalkeeper Meghan Kiker.

The Lady Stars (2-0-2) kept battling though and eventually got the game's final equalizer in the 60th minute on Emma Adcock's goal from about 15 yards out. Madison Louk earned an assist on the play with a beautifully-played through pass to the senior.

The entire sequence started with a strong tackle from Ryan in her own penalty box.

"Madison is an attacking presence with her speed and she also dishes well," Shelton said. "Emma measured that (shot) well.

"She had a chance to get it behind their goalie. She slotted in back post and made a nice move on the ball"

Franklin had several chances to go back in front on free kicks in the game's final 20 minutes but was never able to.

"It's not a loss," Franklin coach Jimmy Burchett said. "The biggest disappointment though for me is that we weren't on the end of a lot of good crosses and passes as we should have been. We had a lot of good plays getting the ball from the outside to in front of the goal we just couldn't get people in a position to finish them."

Most of the game's first 30 minutes were spent in the middle of the field while the two teams shared possession. In the 34th minute, things finally started to heat up.

The Lady Rebels scored first on a perfectly-played free kick by Callie McKinney for 1-0 lead in the 34th minute. The shot was just out of the reach of Kiker.

Then Isabella Roberts scored Siegel's first equalizing goal after the Franklin defense failed to clear a loose ball in 39th minute and just before halftime. The shot tied the game 1-1.

Franklin 2, Siegel 2

Franklin - 1 1 – 2

Siegel - 1 1 – 2

Goals: F- McKinney (34'), Griffin (42'); S- Roberts (39'), Adcock (60'). Assists: S-M. Louk (60').

Contact Will Borthick at wborthick@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @willborthick.