Hoya

So far tonight: Farragut (5) v. South Doyle (0) Bearden (4) v. Sevier Co. (0) Knox West (3) v. Halls (0) No score yet on Oak Ridge v. Karns

Good. Try to call some of your old teammates and get them to the match. It would be fun to see you all again.

CAK beat Kingston 6-0. The final is at Catholic on Friday at 7:00 pm.

Not G, but I think it was 3-0.

Nobody in District 4 will be looking past Kingston unless they want their season to end. Kingston is a dangerous team that has really improved as the season has progressed. At this time of year, you can't look past anyone.

I believe at least one came from a Cannon Thompson throw in, but I am not certain. He's going to be a force for the next three years.

I agree that West looks good. I disagree with your comments about Webb. Can you imagine any other team not struggling against Bearden and a hot D-B team? Webb has a very strong team and they will go deep in the tournament if they can get out of the DII East Region (i.e. past either Baylor or McCallie). As for Catholic's defense "looking weaker each week", I can only wonder which weeks you are referencing. With 9 shut-outs in their last 12 matches prior to last night it doesn't look like a serious slide to me. The Irish only allowed 4 goals in the entire month of April (2 by a quality Webb side and 1 by #3 AAA Germantown Houston). Finally, Catholic may well have benefited from West's Senior Night line-up with their goal at the start of the match last night, but West also benefited from numerous Catholic starters being on the bench by the time the Rebels' rally started. The result was about right.

It's hard to complain about last night's result. They rang up 3 unanswered scores against the #5 AAA team in the state at West. It was just a matter of time until a quality side like West would rally and hit the back of the net themselves on their Senior Night. The final score really doesn't surprise me at all. They are very comparable as their records would indicate: Catholic (13-3-2) and West (10-2-4). Both lost by one goal to Webb and both lost to Bearden---the Irish 1-2 and West 0-2. I do wonder whether the Irish understand how to protect late game results. They gave up goals in the last 20 seconds or so in three big AAA matches at the Bearden tournament earlier in the year. Bearden and Morristown West beat them with last second goals after all but certain ties had occurred. Then at the same tournament McMinn Co. tied them 1-1 in the last few seconds of a match the Irish appeared to have won. Each one of these scores resulted from well-played counterattacks after ill-conceived efforts by the Irish to score with time running out. Sometimes, you have to know when to fold 'em. Two more draws and another victory (all against quality AAA teams) would look nice on their season record. Beating Germantown Houston eased the pain. Overall, I 'm not be too concerned for the Irish. The only A/AA team within a goal of them at the end of a match this season was CAK and the Irish closed that match out quite well. Now they need to rest up and get focused for the real season. I'm personally hoping for three more matches with the Warriors and a victory in Catholic's last game of the season.

It sounds like I missed an exciting match at West. I am told that A/AA #1 Catholic (13-3-2) led #5 AAA West (10-2-4), at West, 3-0 with about 15 minutes to go and West came back to draw at 3-3. Sounds like a great match. Now for the tournaments! Now the season really begins! /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

This all makes sense. Well skilled but hard-nosed, physically aggressive players are often among the most popular players with their own teammates and are often labelled "dirty" or "hacks" by opponents. It goes with the turf in almost any sport. The truth is there really aren't too many truly "dirty" soccer players and those I've seen have often been short on ability or skill. Experienced players know how to solve most problems with true hacks and it doesn't involve posting complaints on message boards. P.S. I've seen Marvin play for a long time and most often I've been hoping he and his team will fail. But, I'd take him. /wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

Same for Catholic, Kaz; however, KCHS is maxed out right now and a sizeable building program is underway just to meet expected enrollment demand for next year from ordinary sources. The school was on the verge of having to turn away qualified Catholic applicants due to lack of space and that is something that I don't believe Catholic has ever done in its history. In any event, applications are expected to be way up again and pressure from the rezoning contraversy was never a planned factor. It should be interesting. I don't know how much room CAK and Webb have, but I bet it isn't much.

It's good news to hear he has recovered. Good luck to both teams. Better luck to the Irish! /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

It should be a very close match. The Webb v. Catholic game was very tight. Bearden and Catholic played to a draw until, with seconds to go in the match, the Bulldogs' keeper unleashed one of his amazing drop kicks into the Irish box for an assist on the goal that beat Catholic. I would be surprised to see anything other than something like a 1-0 or 2-1 match. Bearden needs to match Webb's physical intensity-especially on restarts. Webb needs to quickly account for the Bulldogs' strikers every time Walker handles the ball. His kicks put his team on offense with tremendous distance and accuracy.

Oak Ridge joined a very small group last night. Losses in ET---other than Bearden--- hasn't happened often to this group of Admirals. In 2006 they lost to Science Hill (0-3) and CAK (0-1). In 2005 they lost to Knox Catholic (0-3). In 2004 it was Science Hill,again (1-2). That's it. Bearden, Science Hill, CAK, Catholic and now Oak Ridge are the only ET teams to beat Farragut's seniors.

I don't think the Admirals are "struggling." They simply lost to a good team in an unfortunate manner. Without question Farragut's team health has had a negative effect on their overall play, but with only two losses all season--this one and by one goal to Bearden-- I don't think know that their results would or even could be very much better if everyone was playing. Some nights the ball just doesn't bounce the right way for you. I'd be extremely surprised to see Oak Ridge pull off a similar result in the playoffs if they meet again. Oak Ridge has a fine side, but I don't believe they are regularly three goals better than the Admirals although they were last night. Good luck to both teams.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." /wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

Final: Knox Catholic (5) v. Stone Memorial (0)

Congratulations to both teams on a very, very well played match. I thought the officiating was quite good overall. You can always see calls differently than the center, but I thought the crew was even tempered and consistent throughout the match. I saw no effort by the center to become an obvious factor in the match the way several of his ref colleagues do. He seemed intent on preserving fairness and I thought he did a good job. The second Webb goal either went through the wall or the wall was set with a gap. Hutchins hit a rocket, but there was nothing tricky about it. Foul or no foul, the goal was preventable and cannot be reasonably blamed on the official. The first two goals were well executed set plays. Overall, I thought Catholic had the better of play, particularly in the second half when some of the Irish attacks were text book---except for the lack of the finish, of course. I wondered about the effect of playing 6 games in the last 7 days; however, until the very end I didn't think the Irish looked overly tired. They should be able to catch their breath before the tournaments start and a match of this caliber will strengthen both teams regardless of outcome. To me, the difference in the game were two absolutely fantastic saves by Webb's keeper---one in each half---where Catholic hit rockets that he parried over the crossbar on reflex saves. Nine out of ten times both of those shots would have been goals. He played a very fine game. Good luck to the Spartans in the DII East tournament. Personally, I'd like to see Webb join 4 other teams from Knoxville as state finalists in DII, A/AA and AAA---including the Irish, of course.

In the communications industry they would attribute this thread to a "slow news day". /rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

Final: Knox Catholic (4) v. Halls (0)

I agree. Both teams are playing very well right now and Webb is undefeated for the first time in several years. This match should be very close, just like most of the last ten or so meetings between these teams. As for allsoccer's last question, I hope not! /laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> Good luck to Webb and better luck to the Irish!

Respect is earned not given. I would probably rank South-Doyle somewhere in the top 25 based on their record alone; however, I understand why that view is not shared by all. I am not, by any means, trying to put down South-Doyle and the year it is having; however, it has been a long time since S-D was a regular Reg. 2, Dist. 4 contender and, for whatever reason, they have played a very weak schedule so far this season. Out of their 10 matches played to date, South-Doyle has played only three teams with winning records. Their win over Maryville was very noteworthy but, by comparison, against common foes with winning records, they both lost to Farragut 2-0 and Maryville shut out Sevier Co. 4-0 as compared to a 3-2 win for SD. South-Doyle may be the real thing and it probably deserves more attention; however, I do understand mjhub's response above. Now if they beat Bearden on Friday---well that ought to do it. Good luck on Friday.

The only #1 that matters is #1 after the last match of the season. All the rest is window dressing. /dry.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

Hillwood is a AAA school in Nashville. Region 6, District 11. I'm pretty sure this is their first win of the season. They are not shown in Eurosport.

Final: Knoxville Catholic (3) v. Chattanooga Christian (0)