CPA girls soccer needs penalty kicks to win Division II-A state championship

CPA wasn't ready to end its girls soccer season on Friday. The Lady Lions extended it as long as possible, beating Chattanooga Christian 1-0, winning 3-2 on penalty kicks for the Division II-A championship.

"They wanted to stay together as long as they possibly could," CPA coach Tom Gerlach said. "They literally did that. And they event went beyond the fifth shooter (on penalty kicks)."

CPA's Sylvie Keck had the eventual game winner when her penalty kick went past Katelyn Dirske. Teammate Kayla Wegner then saved Lillie Cate's penalty kick to clinch the win.

The championship is the program's second and first since 2012 and comes after four consecutive state tournament appearances. For Gerlach, it makes his eighth title. Six came as the boys coach at Christian Academy of Knoxville. He led CPA's boys to the 2015 Class A/AA title. 

However, this marks his first title in a game decided by penalty kicks.

"We've been practicing penalty kick shootouts the past three weeks at the end of practice," Gerlach said. "We've been splitting up into two teams and setting them up to set the tone."

Gerlach credited assistant coach Jay Wilkinson, who works with the team's goalkeepers. Wegner anticipated Cate's shot, moving to her left before she even attempted it and gobbled it up for the win.

"He has his own secret recipe for stopping (penalty kicks)," Gerlach said. "He hasn't shared it with me. You just hope you can stop one. You try to read the approach and their eyes."

CPA capped a 19-0-1 season with the win for Gerlach's first undefeated season in 16 seasons of coaching Tennessee high school soccer. Chattanooga Christian finished 19-4-2.

More:Tennessee high school girls soccer state tournament scores

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com or on Twitter @Kreager.