Brentwood 94's Tori Hawkins passes the ball around NASA Elite II's Emily Sonnett during the U17 Championship at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex on Wednesday. / Aaron Thompson/DNJ
Daily News Journal
MURFREESBORO — The Brentwood Girls Premier ’94 soccer team took its best shot — and then some.
But nothing fell.
NASA 12 Elite II of Georgia defeated Brentwood 1-0 in the US Youth Soccer Southern Regional U17 championship game on Wednesday, ending its season.
NASA 12 Elite II advanced to next month’s U17 national championships in Phoenix, Ariz., with the win.
“We had a lot of really close opportunities,” said Brandy Gagliano, the Brentwood U17 coach. “It was the same thing we told the girls (Tuesday). This game was going to come down to who finishes the few chances that they get. We had plenty of chances. They just didn’t fall. That’s how the game of soccer goes sometimes.”
NASA 12 Elite scored on an own goal in the 80th minute. The goal came when Brentwood’s Malinda Allen deflected a shot from a NASA 12 Elite player into the right corner of the goal.
“There is not an individual that stands out on our team,” said Tori Hawkins, a rising Siegel senior and MTSU commitment. We are a team. We are a united team. Even though it was an own goal, we stand together. That’s what puts us above most teams.”
The team also featured Riverdale graduate Ashlie Watson and Siegel graduate Samantha Pewitt. Pewitt, who suffered a knee injury during the high school season, could not play in the tournament as she has not yet been medically cleared.
Brentwood was the lone Tennessee team to advance past the first day of the single elimination portion of the tournament. It is also the first Tennessee team to reach the southern regional championship game since 2002. The last Tennessee team to make it to the national championships came in 1998 when Memphis FC, a U20 men’s team, reached the semifinals of the national tournament.
“Tennessee doesn’t get alot of recognition when it comes to soccer, so I think the girls have kind of put soccer in Tennessee on the map a little and proven to the soccer community that kids in Tennessee can play soccer,” Gagliano said.
Most of the Tennessee players are from high schools in Middle Tennessee and 14 have signed or committed with a college team.
The championship game appearance came a year after Brentwood reached the southern regional semifinals in Baton Rouge, La. The game was the sixth in as many days for both teams. Brentwood finished the tournament 4-2.
“We couldn’t finish,” Hawkins said. “We peaked at the right time of the season. We struggled from high school. With a few new additions to our team we stepped up our play and learned how to connect.”
Brentwood upset the defending national champion, Solar Red (Texas), by a score of 4-1 on Friday.
“People were talking about us all over the tournament,” said Gagliano, who also coaches Christ Presbyterian Academy. “I think we were kind of the talk of the town, if you will, for the weekend having sent the national champions home. There were tons of college coaches out there watching and everybody was just, ‘Wow, your team really outplayed them.’ ”