Father Ryan girls soccer season ends with loss to GPS

Michael Curtis
The Tennessean

MURFREESBORO — Father Ryan sophomore Bradie West knew there was an opportunity to do something special in the Division II-AA state championship on Friday.

Father Ryan players regroup after being scored on by Girls Preparatory School during their TSSAA DII-AA Girls' Soccer Final at Richard Siegel Soccer Complex Friday, October 26, 2018.

But the Lady Irish (13-5-1) dropped the 3-2 decision to the Girls Preparatory School of Chattanooga (13-1-3) in the state final at Richard Siegel Soccer Complex.

West's confidence stemmed from the fact that she scored the first goal of the game on a header assisted by Lily Rummo less than four minutes into the match. A soggy field didn't help her case, but she remained positive.

"I'm incredibly proud of my team," West said. "We fought hard and we knew it was going to be a tough game, but we were confident in each other. It's not the outcome we wanted, but I'm incredibly proud of them."

West scored both goals for Father Ryan. Rummo assisted on both goals. Goalkeeper Allison Kirchhoff finished with six saves.

Rummo left the game in the second half after suffering a cramp and having to get her right leg stretched by a GPS player before walking off the field. She returned a few minutes later.

With the game tied at two with in the 75th minute, the game-winning goal was credited to GPS senior Lane Lawrence when a free kick by the Lady Bruisers bounced off of a Father Ryan defender and into the goal.

"You can't match that perseverance they showed as they were going through," Father Ryan coach Robin Dieterich said. "We started out very quick and we liked that, but you gotta give it to them [GPS]. They came back and tied it up and it gave them some momentum going into the half."

The most special part about this season was the growth of his team, Dieterich said.

"We were struggling in August," Dieterich said. "We kept changing formations, and then all of a sudden, midway through, you could see the growth of this team and they started putting stuff together, and we started to get some wins."

Reach Michael Curtis at mcurtis@gannett.com and on Twitter @MikeACurtis2.