The Oakland girls soccer team will be making its second straight Class AAA state tournament appearance Wednesday, and for coach Jeff Boynton and the Lady Patriots, it’s time to take the next step.
“Getting there is no longer good enough,” Boynton said. “We need to take the next step.”
Standing in the way, however, is unbeaten Clarksville (21-0-3), which outscored Beech and Hendersonville 8-1 in the Region 5-AAA tournament before thumping Franklin 4-1 in Saturday’s sectional match.
Oakland (11-4-2) is the underdog heading in, but Boynton is hoping his players embrace that role instead of being intimidated.
“They’re ranked very high, and they’ve been unbeaten all year long,” Boynton said. “By no means does anybody think we can’t win, but I think the viewpoint around town and around school is that not too many people expect us to win. We need the girls to understand that and embrace it.”
Clarksville and Oakland square off at 6:30 p.m. at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex.
Siegel (12-4-4), which is making its eighth state tournament appearance in the program’s 12-year history, will also be facing an uphill battle Wednesday when the Lady Stars take on defending Class AAA champion Houston — a rematch of the 2012 Class AAA semifinals, which Siegel won 1-0.
The Lady Mustangs (18-4-2) boast some of the top attacking players in the state, and they’re also very deep — something Siegel coach Eric Shelton will be mindful of.
“They sub frequently and they’re always throwing different players at you, so we’re going to have to be very smart in the way in which we approach defending a team like this,” Shelton said. “If we extend too much, we’ll run ourselves to death.”
Siegel’s opening-round match is set for 7 p.m
“We’ve had our ups and downs throughout the course of the season, but I think at this point we’re playing our best soccer of the season, which is all you can ask for.”
Ravenwood (17-2), which suffered a 3-1 loss to Houston in last year’s Class AAA championship, will also be part of the Class AAA field on Wednesday as the Lady Raptors take on Hardin Valley (18-1-2) at 4:30 p.m.
The Lady Raptors dominated Hendersonville 8-3 in Saturday’s sectional match, and they appear poised to make another deep playoff run this postseason.
In Class A-AA action, Hume-Fogg will face Chattanooga Christian (11-6-4) at 4:30 p.m., while Spring Hill will square off against Notre Dame (9-5-5) at 6:30.
Both Hume-Fogg (17-3) and Spring Hill (13-4-3) are returning to the state tournament for the first time in three seasons, and they’ll both be looking for better outcomes this time around. The Lady Blue Knights were easily dismissed by Christian Academy of Knoxville, 3-1, in the opening round in 2011, while the Lady Raiders were crushed by Page, 8-0, in the 2011 semifinals.
“We’ve worked hard, and a lot of that hard work has come to fruition,” first-year Spring Hill coach Robert Walker
Battle Ground Academy (13-5-2) and University School of Nashville (16-3-4) will also be representing Middle Tennessee in Division II-A action, which begins Friday at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex, while Father Ryan (10-5-4) and Brentwood Academy (13-3) will be among the four-team, Division II-AA field.
Reach Michael Murphy at 259-0818 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.
