The Brentwood Bruins soccer team (22-2-1) brought home a state title for the first time in a decade, securing a 4-1 win over the Bearden Bulldogs (21-2-3) in the Class AAA championship game Friday afternoon at the Richard Siegel soccer complex in Murfreesboro.

The title was their fifth in program history following wins in 1995, 2005, 2008, and 2012. 

“Anytime you get back to where you have been, it is rewarding,” said Brentwood head coach Mike Purcell. “I don’t get as crazy as I used to, but it is not what I think, it is the kids. You saw the way they responded and it was huge to them. It just shows the goal they had in mind and how hard they worked all season. To be the only team that gets this reward in the state is pretty special, because there are a lot of good teams out there.”

“We made it here my freshman year and lost, which was pretty demoralizing,” said Brentwood senior Forrest Wells. “We are just really proud to make it back and finally win.”

“It means so much,” said Brentwood senior Aidan Parker. “I know I am going to remember this for the rest of my life. We had the mentality that we were all going to win this game. We fought with everything we had and got the result we wanted. I just wanted to thank coaches, teammates, and parents that believed in me. It is an amazing feeling.”

The Bruins got on the board first with a strike in the box by junior Cooper Bailey in the 12th minute to take the lead 1-0.

Brentwood senior Reid McAdams added another goal seven minutes later with a blast just outside the box to stretch the Bruins advantage to 2-0.

In the 28th minute, Wells snuck around the keeper and tapped in a goal inside the box to stretch the Bruins margin to 3-0.

“The juice was when we got the breakaway from Cooper on the first shot,” said Purcell. “Then we scored on our second shot, and we scored on our third shot. We just had one of those days.”

“We came into this game trying to limit their attack,” said Wells. “After that we had three shots, three goals. At that point, we just kept rolling.”

The Bruins took a 3-0 advantage into halftime.

In the 43rd minute, Wells tallied his second goal of the match with a ball perfectly placed just out of reach of the Bearden keeper on a free kick to give Brentwood a 4-0 margin.

“It is just us working together,” said Parker. “I would draw people out and open up spaces for my teammates. We just kept hammering it on them. We would get hit and get back up. The goals were world class.”

Bearden answered late with a goal in the box in the 79th minute by junior Ethan Ford to get the Bulldogs on the board, trailing 4-1.

Brentwood captured a decisive win over Bearden as junior goalie Thomas Fields only allowed just one goal and made three saves in the contest.

“He (Thomas) has been great all season,” said Wells. “I think he has only let in 10 goals, so he has been a beast. They did not have many shots. I am so proud of him.”

“Thomas is a confident keeper,” said Parker. “I feel next year he is going to be even better than he is now.”

Brentwood's seniors capped off their soccer career in style, but it won’t just be the title they remember.

“It is the friendships I have had here,” said Parker. “I am close with every single one of these boys, and I am going to miss all of them.”