VicFerarri

Why would you consider it an upset if C-ville wins? If I'm not mistaken, C-ville remains ranked No. 1 in the state and is unbeaten. They are playing with confidence and are also deep. Rothwell is one of the state's best defenders and plays tough and smart. There is no doubt it will be a tough, physical game. But, Collierville has the "lucky charm" it was missing last year - Clyde the bus driver is back. He drove them when they captured the title in 05.

Collierville 1 Oak Ridge 0 Collierville's third straight year in the title game.

Hey 'dog, no doubt, your young Stars played well and had something to prove. You had more to gain from the tie or a win than did Collierville who had trouble keeping there shorts on for some of the game. But since you referenced the Commercial Appeal article, we've all been wondering for years who Jason Smith is related to at SAA. His bias towards SAA, and a few other private schools, especially when it comes to soccer, has been obvious for years. Even if Collierville had won, the article most probably would have leaned towards how the young Stars were only "rebuilding" and not expected to slay the "mighty" Dragon.....that is, if there would have been article at all. And before you say it, this isn't jealously, it's fact. But, it is what it is. Collierville accepts it and thrives off it. Enjoy the accomplishment and best of luck at state.

The game was well played on both sides. It was an exciting match to watch. Yes, 8 goals is a bit surprising, but both teams just attacked. Collierville did split goalies. Both made some plays and both got scored on. Neither lost their composure. It was 2-1 Houston at half, but Collierville tied it up a few minutes into the second half. Elise was injured on a scoring play when she came out to take on a Collierville forward. The ball went into the net and they both collided and were down several minutes. Elise had to leave the game and didn't return. This one was for pride and bragging rights as both teams should meet again in the region. Both teams should be proud for such a well fought match and providing good entertainment for a Tuesday evening.

No, can't say that I care or think about the "love," bud. But, perhaps you can share some with all of us and then we and can all just get along. Now, if you're going to state numbers, at least be more accurate. C-ville made its turn around in 2003 and went to state for the first time that year. That's at least the elite 8 in the state, right? So really, before 4 years ago, they were a blank spot in the world of TN soccer. However, if the record books are accurate, they have done as much as Brentwood (1 state champion and 1 finalist) and more than many other teams discussed in this post.

Hm....where did I belittle either team? With all the hype that sometimes gets written in these message boards, I said I wasn't impressed AND that it may have been an off night. That's the way I saw it, it was my opinion and has nothing to do with being a C-ville supporter. Come September 25, I expect a more intense Houston team to show up when they play C-ville. Yeah, I agree, the AAA competition in the west is weak and perhaps even weaker now than in the past. Hey, we at least agree on this! But, free ride? Come on, you know nothing is free and you still have to play the game because on any given day, an underdog can beat a favorite. Does South Carolina's win over UNC come to mind? An intermediate goal may be getting to state, but the ultimate goal is getting to finals and taking home the crown. At state, the west teams have to beat middle and east teams to get to the finals. And, if you take a look at the record books, you will see that the west has been well represented over the years as champions and finalist. C-ville has been to the finals the past two years straight and got there last year by beating a talented Siegel team, 3-0 if I remember right. And I do say "talented" with all due respect. So yeah, the district is weak, but C-ville plays as tough of schedule as anyone in AAA when you look at their non-district games.

I was at the game and wasn't really impressed with either team's skill or speed. Perhaps it was an off night, but I question the rankings of both teams at this point. There's still a lot of soccer to played and soon the cream of the crop will start to rise. The upcoming weekend's rivals tournament at Collierville-Houston may shake up this ranking list a bit. I thought the one Houston defender #3 played a solid game and hope Siegel's #11 knee injury doesn't turn out to be a repeat of last year's injury to the other leg which reportedly also happened on Houston's field.

Collierville has 22 players (11 Sr, 4 Jr and 7 Soph), 18 of which were a part of the 2006 AAA runnerup team and 7 of which were a part of the 2005 AAA championship team. They are a seasoned team with several girls who will play at the next level. All players are seeing quite a bit of playing time. Ali Glemser is a South Carolina commitment and made the Katie Hunter all tournament team.

Cheers to you Canes for pointing out what some forget to take into account when a team travels from across the state to participate in this tournament and others. It's been a good tournament with pretty good competition. Perhaps the term "strangers" is a bit strong for teammate, but I understand your point. It's typically not their sister they're sharing a room with.

MustangSalie, think you better slow your mustang down when talking talent. Collierville is as talented this year as in previous years and are solid front to back. And know this, Collierville will play to win every match, district or region, because when you get to state, you still have to win 3 games to win it all.

St. George's is a private school in Collierville. The D1 Collierville team is AAA and has the talent to be in the hunt again for another shot at the state title.

http://www.dbsoccer.org/AllState/GirlsAllStateAAA2006.htm

Who helps with the cost? Excellent question! Probably won't get an answer, However. I also wonder who covers the cost of the coach bus they take to away games? Us - the tax payers? Also, probably won't get an answer. County teams don't get such a luxury unless the booster club pays for it. The county sports programs get absolutely NO funding from the school or school district. The booster clubs must even pay the coach's pay stipend. It would be interesting to know how the city school sports programs are funded. No news media has been interested in doing a investigative report on this, probably because of the political fall out that would occur.

I fully understand. I'm asking how can a girl be named to the regional team and not play high school soccer. Hailey Beam played for UNCC this past season, but is listed on the HS All-Region (IV) team. It appears to be an obvious mistake as it has her listed as a senior (she graduated HS early as a junior) and the school she went to. So, I wonder who is actually selecting the girls for this honor, what is the basis for their selection and is someone paying attention to those nominated. Someone obviously wasn't paying attention in this case. As mjuhb pointed out, there were several quality players from Tennessee that were overlooked and were as good as those selected and will be playing D1 soccer next season at some good schools.

Do you know if this honor is only for high school players? There is a player listed, Hailey Beam, who graduated HS early so that she could play this past season with her older sister at UNC-Charlotte. As such, she didn't have a senior year and didn't play a minute on a high school team this past season. The Collierville coach is not a member and a Collierville player was selected. In fact, he didn't even know she had been selected.

Go the the Soccer-in-College link. Click schedule and the bracket you want in the drop down box. Click refresh.

I found it rather amusing that Eurosport could even consider ranking Hendersonville over Collierville. In a sense, it's not surprising as Collierville isn't typically given the respect it deserves even though it's been to the state title game two years straight. The ranking lessens the credibility of the system. Apparently, someone at Hendersonville is still trying to cope with reality and the fact they didn't get done on the field.

I've seen similar other comments regarding the game. Not sure what game you and others were watching, but Collierville pressured Siegel most of the game. Siegel is a good team. Anna Grace Gerhart (#24) is no doubt an awesome weapon at the set play and Kirby Towry (#6) is a tenacious player (and just a freshman). But, they also had some luck play in their favor. Had Collierville been able to better finish a few of their shots on goal the score would have been worse. But, all that is history. Congratulations to Bearden for being the 2006 State Champs. They earned it.

I thought your girls played with determination and pride. Could have been a 2-3 game at half. They should be proud of their accomplishment. Any truth to the story that the coach checked the team out of the hotel early (assuming defeat) and had the girls out there most of the day? If so, that's disappointing and sent the wrong message to the girls.

According to the Tennessean, Franklin 3-0.

Beat Houston 1-0.

Interesting observation. In my first post regarding the SAA-CHS game, where was the whining? I questioned the fact that there were only two refs for this game, but no where in that post did I blame them for the outcome. Go back and read it and don't try reading between the lines because you'd be 100% wrong. I simply stated an observation. Funny, I made no mention of the officiating calls until h20dog brought up it up and then agreed that poor calls were made for/against both teams. I also pointed out that both teams, especially SAA, blew scoring opportunities and indicated that teams have to play above the ref's calls. I did specifically point out that SAA wasn't the only team affected by critical calls, or no calls as the case may be. Now, if video evidence exists that proves my observation regarding the offsides was incorrect, I would like to see it and would glady step up and admit I was wrong if it wasn't offsides.

I happen to believe that SAA wasn't anxious, but was a bit cocky and did not expect Collierville to give them the kind of game it turned out to be. This game was as intense as the Collierville-Houston game last week where Collierville probably played a bit better. Had Collierville not gone into a "prevent defense" after scoring the first goal and kept attacking, the outcome may have been different. SAA was not expecting to be scored on and they were looking winded and at times quite frustrated. Collierville didn't take advantage of this. Molly Kinsella is credited for the great effort put forth on that second goal. In fact, she worked hard all night. I wasn't trying to take anything away from her. However, in spite of what the box score reported, the ball did deflect off a Collierville defender into the net. You apparently didn't see her anguish after the ball went in off her foot. Now, I purposely avoided stating anything about some of the poor calls that were made against/for both teams. I believe a team has to play above poor calls and each team missed opportunities score, especially SAA. However, since you bring it up, the stand side ref missed the fact SAA was clearly offsides when their last score was made. He was not close to being even with the last defender. But, since you only pointed out the calls you believe were in Collierville's favor, I doubt you will agree. A team with SAA's speed can take advantage of a 2 man crew and did. A 3 man crew would have been better for Collierville. Learned that Collierville did not schedule the refs. It is done through someone who assigns refs. Collierville didn't know there would only be 2 refs until game time. Lets clarify. There were no chants of "over-rated" coming from the adult fans that were present. If it came from the HS students it sure wasn't very loud. And then, what can you expect? They're students and SAA students aren't exempt from such actions either. There are no "sour grapes" and there is no resentment towards the national ranking. Collierville was nationally ranked last year and they know how it feels. Personally, I rather not lose, whether the team is nationally ranked or not. Because as you've stated, what matters is the "W." There's no telling how far each team will advance. Collierville has been unable to win a "big" game, but still has time to peak. At this point, there is probably more pressure on SAA to win a state championship than for Collierville to repeat as state champions.

St. Agnes 2, Collierville 1 Physical game, but only two refs! What were they thinking?!! Two refs were not enough for the speed and physical style for this game. Collierville again scored a goal for their oppenent in the last minute of the game and this time it cost them the game. Collierville scored first in the second half and let down afterwards allowing St. Agnes to score to tie it up. Collierville gave St. Agnes all they could handle and more. Good preparation for the district tournament for both teams.

The Houston-Collierville match was a good and physical game. The players left it all out on the field and are commended for an exciting and entertaining game. And despite what the Houston parents think, the center ref and linesmen called a good game. A few bads calls were made against both teams, but they didn't affect the outcome. The ref allowed the girls to be physical, which is okay for the Houston parents so long as their girls are the ones being physical. Had Houston lost, their parent's excuse would have been poor officiating (normally is) and this goes back to when they were eliminated at state last year. Teams have to play above the refs calls. Wish they would quit whining. Both teams made mistakes and Houston was able to capitalize and was the better team last night. And to note, Collierville scored Houston's third goal off a ball deflection off the post. But, this wasn't the reason Collierville lost. As for St. Agnes, they are loaded with quality talent and will be a great challenge for Collierville. Neither team has really played a tough schedule. St. Agnes has beaten Father Ryan and BGA in the preseason and Farragut, Franklin and ECS in the regular season. The competative quality of the other teams they've beaten, and in some cases slaughtered, is questionable. Collierville has one quality win (against Oak Ridge) and tied ECS 4-4. The game against St. Agnes will no doubt help them improve their game as they head into the district tournament and hopefully regionals and state. It's not how you start, but how you finish and it's more important to peak at the right time. As for the outcome, many would say St. Agnes has the upper hand. However, if Collierville comes with their "A" game, minimizes their mental errors, improves their defensive strategy and has a little luck, they will give St. Agnes all they can handle and more. The game is played because the better team on paper doesn't always win. A reason why Collierville is the 2005 state champions.