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Brentwood snaps Franklin's 11-AAA soccer streak

Brentwood soccer coach Mike Purcell didn’t downplay the significance of his squad’s 1-0 win over District 11-AAA rival Franklin on Tuesday.

The key early season contest was one the Bruins had to have.

“Franklin has been so good the last two years that no matter what you think about them, you’ve got this doubt,” Purcell said of the two-time defending AAA champs, who lost 14 players from last year’s unbeaten squad. “I’m just glad we won because we needed to win — to get that Brentwood thing back.”

It was the Rebels’ first district defeat since 2011.

Brentwood (4-0-1, 2-0), which had dropped three straight to the Rebels, seized an early advantage on Will Howard’s 27th-minute goal, which came off a deflected free kick from Avery Cowan.

“I didn’t think it would hold up,” Purcell said. “We withstood the pressure, and a lot of that was because we were there. They had opportunities and they weren’t hitting. We toughed it out.”

Franklin (1-2, 1-1) managed seven shots on goal in the losing effort.

“It happened earlier when we played BGA,” Franklin coach Mike Burgoyne said. “Same thing, we created a lot of chances, they just didn’t go. I think it’s a confidence thing. Once one of these goes in, there’s going to be a big difference in our psyche.”

Said Howard: “This is huge. They’ve been undefeated for the past two years and they’ve beat us the last three years. It’s huge, and it puts us in the driver’s seat to get the No. 1 seed.”

Reach Michael Murphy at 615-259-8018 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.

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