CPA’s Spencer Hagan (24) lunges past Dallas Dunn (6) of CAK to get possession during the A-AA title match Friday.
MURFRESSBORO – Christ Presbyterian Academy soccer coach Tom Gerlach had the chance to capture his seventh TSSAA state championship Friday in Division I A-AA state title game.
To earn his seventh title he would have to beat the team with which he won his first six.
That’s exactly what he did as CPA used a late goal to take a 1-0 win over Christian Academy of Knoxville in Friday’s final.
“It’s very bittersweet,” Gerlach said. “I’m very, very happy for our guys but I taught probably 90 percent of those boys in sixth grade. I’ve coached them, I’ve been on mission trips with them, so my heart breaks for them.”
With the win, Gerlach not only beat his old team, he beat his best friend in former assistant and current CAK coach Jon Day.
“I knew coming in that I was fine either way,” Gerlach said. “If we lost then some of my favorite people on the earth won the championship. If we won then some of my new favorite people on the earth won the championship.”
The result was a duplicate of last year’s 1-0 CPA win over CAK in the title match.
The deciding goal, scored by Evan McCarthy, came with just 10 minutes remaining.
Harrison Myers took control of a bouncing ball and put a ball in the box in the 70th minute. Junior Spencer Hagan put a shot on goal that deflected to McCarthy, who turned and fired the ball into the back of the net to give the Lions the eventual game-winner.
“Spencer hit it, shot and it deflected and came to me,” McCarthy said. “Then I set it of my knee and hit it in. It just kind of bounced its all the way through and luckily it bounced it way to me.”
CAK won six titles in the 2000s under Gerlach and Day. It’s their second straight runner-up finish to the Lions, however.
“It was a classic battle,” Day said. “I think both sides knew as the season was unfolding that this was going to be what was probably on the cards for today. So it was kind of everything we expected.”
Reach Sam Brown at 615-259-8232 and on Twitter @SamBrownTN.
