Over the past two decades, two schools have dominated girls high school soccer in the state of Tennessee.
Bearden and Houston have combined to win 12 of the past 19 state titles, and they’ve met in three of the past four state finals – including Houston’s win on penalties last year.
In this year’s regular season game against Houston, the Lady Bulldogs got some measure of revenge with a 3-0 win last month. For the team, this victory meant more than just obtaining a win; it was a comeback game.
The team’s season has been fueled with a fire from last season’s outcome. Instead of letting the loss lead the team to disappointment, though, Bearden came back with an even more intense drive to beat them this season.
“It’s a rematch of the state championship game, so I think there’s a lot of emotion in it,” Coach Ryan Radcliffe said.
Added senior center back Emma Rainey: “It’s just so exciting because that was such a huge game for us, especially coming off of last year with the disappointment of losing twice to them.”
Between the added push – both mentally from the emotions of last season’s loss and physically from the effort put in at practice – their team dynamic pushed them ahead of the state champions.
“We just brought a fire and energy that they couldn’t match because both teams are really talented, but I just think we showed that we wanted it more,” junior midfielder Cali Motley said.
While that win gave the team a lot of confidence, they also got a bit of a wakeup call last week with a loss to Oak Ridge. Other than a loss to Houston last August, Bearden had not lost a regular season match since 2020.
In response to this, the team now wears the mindset that no game is any easier than the one before. They understand that the mentality used in the game against Houston should be carried over to every game for the rest of the season.
“I think the mentality is different that any given night any team could beat you, and we understand that we’re gonna get everybody’s best shot,” Coach Radcliffe said. “All good teams have to have a bump to wake them up or a bump in the road to wake them up; nobody ever wants that, but sometimes you have to have it.”
They certainly responded. Bearden beat Chattanooga Christian, who had beaten Oak Ridge earlier this year, 6-1 on Tuesday.
The girls have a reputation of operating like a family. With the team’s sights set on reclaiming their state title this year, the loss has allowed them to realize that connection across all grade levels is one of the most important factors for success.
“We do things together as a team, and that just really propels us to be together and play together,” Rainey said.
Added Motley: “It’s not like we can just go through the motions. We’re a good team, and when we put our talents together, we can win.”
The Lady Bulldogs will play at West this Friday at 7 p.m. West has won every match this year, and the only goal they’ve allowed all season was in a 2-1 win over Oak Ridge.