Merrol Hyde girls soccer repeats as TSSAA state champions with 4-0 win over Cumberland Gap

Chattanooga's been kind to Merrol Hyde girls soccer the last two years.

After winning their first state title last season with a group of freshmen and sophomores leading the way, the Lady Hawks were considered to be the heavy favorites entering this year's state tournament.

They did not disappoint.

Merrol Hyde (20-2-1) repeated as the Class A champion with a dominant 4-0 win over Cumberland Gap (19-2-2) on Saturday. The Lady Hawks outscored their opponents 10-0 in the tournament and haven't allowed a goal in the state tournament since 2020.

"Going back-to-back is not an easy thing and I'm just thankful to be a part of it," Merrol Hyde coach Jason Bentley said. "It's great for the program and great for the players. I think last year winning it, we had to manage the pressure a little different this year where as in years before, it was striving to obtain. We focused in on that while last year was great, but we weren't defending that title.

"We were going out with the goal of winning a title for this team and make that the mindset. The girls focused in on that well."

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A team where each player is a threat to score, the Lady Hawks entered the state tournament with 130 goals and had three players with 20 or more goals.

That diverse ability to have anyone able to score showed itself early as Reagan Hudson broke the game open with 23 minutes remaining in the first half.

Gianna Cruz doubled the Lady Hawks' lead near the end of the half off of an assist from Mary McIllwain and the rout was on.

Nine minutes into the second half, Hudson scored her second goal from Ava Wei and Sydney Rewa made it a four-goal lead seven minutes later.

Merrol Hyde had 18 shots against Cumberland Gap and got eight on target. Despite that dominance, the Lady Panthers had plenty of shots on goal as well, getting off 11 with six on target. Hadley Marshall stood tall saving each of those six shots.

The Lady Hawks outshot Cumberland Gap 9-3 in the second half and also kept the ball on their side for much of the game, holding a 10-0 advantage on corner kicks.

"The difference between year and last year, last year we had several young players who contributed and got a taste of what it feels like to play at the state level," Bentley said. "They came in with confidence this season and you pair that with three senior captains who had been to the state tournament five years in a row, the moment wasn't too big for them."

Reach Joe Spears at jspears2@gannett.com. Follow him on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter @joe_spears7.