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TSSAA soccer: Brentwood reaches state championship game after rallying past Collierville in second half





Brentwood senior Aidan Parker possesses the ball against Shelbyville on Tuesday in the Class AAA quarterfinals. Parker made the winning goal in Brentwood's 3-2 win over Collierville in the semifinals on Wednesday. David Russell / Main Street Nashville

Brentwood senior Aidan Parker possesses the ball against Shelbyville on Tuesday in the Class AAA quarterfinals. Parker made the winning goal in Brentwood’s 3-2 win over Collierville in the semifinals on Wednesday. David Russell / Main Street Nashville

MURFREESBORO — Aidan Parker insists he wasn’t hurt too bad.

But when the Brentwood senior fell to the field and held his leg in the second half of Thursday’s second half, it appeared somewhat serious.

“He’s laying down there like he’s dead,” Brentwood soccer coach Mike Purcell said, “and I’m wondering if he’s even going to be able to go back in.”

Brentwood is back in the state championship game for the first time since 2012 in large part because Parker re-entered the Class AAA semifinals and delivered the winning play in the final five minutes, drawing a foul and making the subsequent penalty kick in the Bruins’ 3-2 victory over Collierville.

Parker had to run from another side of the field to insert himself into the play.

“I heard Coach on the sideline yelling, ‘All you got left! Five minutes!’ I was determined to get that goal,” Parker said. “I didn’t want to go to extra time, that’s extra minutes on my legs I just don’t need.”

 

 

Brentwood (22-2-1) will face Bearden (22-1-3) in the state finals at 4 p.m. Friday.

The semifinal turned into a classic. It was scoreless at halftime, and the second half got underway around the time straight-line winds and sheets of rain began falling at Richard Siegel Soccer Complex.

Brentwood went up 1-0 on a header by Forrest Wells less than two minutes into the second half, but Collierville scored the next two to grab a 2-1 lead with 25:19 left. Jack Boring tied the game at the 14:25 mark on an unassisted goal from 20 yards out, a no-doubt score that hit the net with velocity.

It’s a moment Boring doesn’t plan to forget soon.

“That’s the biggest one,” Boring said when asked where the goal ranks for him. “The state semifinals, I’m only a sophomore. It’s just crazy to me.”

Added Purcell: “It was a perfect goal. At halftime, he said, ‘I’m gonna get a shot off in the second half like that.’ Cool, calm and collected. He drilled it. It was perfect.”

The only thing left was for Parker to work his magic, and for the Bruins to “hold on for dear life,” Purcell said. Confidence was high in Parker after he scored two goals in the quarterfinals against Shelbyville. He has also been a perfect 6-for-6 on penalty kicks this season.

The Bruins have been regulars at the state tournament during Purcell’s 20-year career, with four titles. But the program’s last title game appearance was 10 years ago when it won the 2012 Class AAA championship.

Purcell, 71, has coached long enough to appreciate these postseason runs.

“We get to the state tournament a lot but getting to the finals is hard, particularly this year,” Purcell said. “We had to play some hard doggone teams in the region and coming into state. I’m tickled pink for (the players).”

Parker and other seniors are seizing the moment.

“None of us want to go home,” he said. “We said this year we have the best chance of winning state in a long time. All the boys’ drive, the mentality we have that we want to win … When everyone on the field has that mindset it’s hard to lose.”

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