abchim

There were teams from the Knoxville area between 1985-1995 with talent; Bearden, Oak Ridge, Farragut, and Webb. All these teams shared in one way or another club team members, off-season competition, but not on the level it exists today. The way the regions were set up during this period only allowed for one Knoxville area team to advance. The reason Farragut won their first title in the 80s, and thus early state wide notoriety, was a Brazilian transfer student who carried the team with 20+ goals. (See Brandon Tarr, CAK) From 1995 moving forward to the early 2000s, Bearden and Farragut saw the benefits of improved club soccer and better coaching. Webb moved to a different division, and Oak Ridge faded slightly. Most recently, West Knoxville has shown that developing a great feeder system in club soccer, excellent fields, and tough competition at young ages, can lead to one of the two teams in the AAA Final tonight winning the title for 6 of the last 7 years and CAK winning 5 in a row. While other parts of the state are catching up, it is finally to good to see the best teams in the state play for the title rather than one sit home due to their geopgraphic location. For now Tennessee's best soccer resides in West Knoxville. Congratulations to all the teams.

Bearden Soccer Alumni here, just got a call from current Farragut student in Colorado just to give me the score!!!!..............let the bragging begin. This game should have been played in West Knoxville. Congrats to both teams.