SoccerDawgs win, tie
KNOXVILLE — The start of the soccer match was stalled while Bearden waited “about an hour” for its last BHS Invitational opponent, Chattanooga Notre Dame, to arrive, while strong winds often stalled the movement of the ball Saturday evening, April 1.
The biggest stall of all, NDHS seemingly willing to play for a tie, seemed quite real when Fighting Irish players celebrated a 0-0 finish like it was an huge upset win.
“And when they get here they need extra time to shoot (in warm-ups),” said a less than happy Ryan Radcliffe, BHS head coach, whose team (5-0-2 starting the week) dominated most of the match’s attack time — yet got turned away by outstanding saves from the Notre Dame goalkeeper, barely missing well-constructed scoring chances or getting shots blocked by NDHS defenders.
“I guess there was a delay-of-game tactic from the very beginning,” Radcliffe added about the Fighting Irish approach, both pre-game and in-game.
Bearden did pick up yet another dominant home victory during Invitational play, blanking traditional Class 4A power Hendersonville 3-0 Friday, March 31.
