'I didn't think it could happen:' Bearden soccer stumbles, finishes state runner-up for second year

MURFREESBORO — Lucas Nordin was dejected after Friday's Class AAA state championship game, fighting back tears as he stood several feet away from the team bench.

The Bearden forward was held scoreless by Brentwood after recording five goals in the previous two games of the state tournament. The Bruins stunned Bearden 4-1 in the final, leaving the Bulldogs (21-2-3) as runners-up for the second consecutive season.

"It's tough coming this far and coming up short," Nordin said. "It sucks that it's two years in a row. I didn't think it could happen two years in a row."

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Nordin said he was battling a Achilles tendon injury but was never going to sit out the state championship game. He was Bearden's most prolific scorer all year, breaking the school record for goals in a season with 38. However, the Bruins (22-2-1) double-teamed him for nearly the entire 80 minutes, and he recorded just two shots on goal.

Bearden got off to a good start, earning six corner kicks before Brentwood ever took a shot. Despite five shots in the first 10 minutes, Brentwood's execution was nearly perfect — it scored on its first two shots.

"Soccer is a cruel game, and I think that was a great example of it," Bearden coach Ryan Radcliffe said. "We had some good chances to take the lead and really put them behind, and then simple error there on the first goal kind of kind of knocked us in the face. We just had too many little little mental errors at the wrong time, and when you do that against a really good team, they make you pay"

Radcliffe said the hardest part of finishing second again is letting down the Bearden soccer tradition. The Bulldogs have appeared in 15 state tournaments and has won the title five times, most recently in 2019.

"The boys do such a good job of upholding that tradition and upholding what it means to come in and put another state championship on the banner for the fans that come out," Radcliffe said. "It's not easy, but you try to see the the ultimate picture that we're at a state championship and in a class with some of the best teams not in just the state, but in the country."

The Bulldogs graduate 13 seniors, including top midfielders Dylan Kolnick and Julian Strickland. Nordin, a junior, returns, as does freshman goalkeeper Logan Nelson. 

"We'll be good, because we have so many guys that are used to playing at this level and have been getting minutes," Nordin said. "We have guys in good spots, so I'm not worried at all. It's just going to take some rebuilding."

Contact Emily Adams at eaadams@gannett.com or on Twitter @eaadams6.