Richard Northcutt It was a day of firsts for the Signal Mountain girls' soccer program.
Kennedy Ethridge's goal - her first of the tournament - with just 4:58 remaining in the match lifted the Lady Eagles to a 1-0 win over Merrol Hyde for the TSSAA Class A state championship Saturday at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro.
In earning the program's first state title, Signal Mountain also became the first public school from the Chattanooga area to win a girls' soccer championship. The Lady Eagles came up short last season, falling to Alcoa in the title game, but avenged that loss with a win in penalty kicks in Thursday's semifinals before completing the championship run Saturday.
"It was a tough road. You're not going to cupcake your way through," Lady Eagles coach Richard Northcutt said. "It was a really good game. I thought we played well; I thought they played well. These games can go either way. You can play well and lose, but you've just got to kick it in the net. They had some chances. It was very tight. Overall I thought we possessed the ball well and got a good win.
"In the big picture, we played much better than we did last year. The more pressure you get, the more nervousness sets in. We were a lot less nervous with a year's experience."
Ethridge beat the defense and scored what proved to be the game-winner on a second-half breakaway for the Lady Eagles (15-3-1). Keeper Amanda Muschel made five saves.
The Lady Eagles outscored their three state tournament opponents 9-0.