MURFREESBORO — Shelbyville Central's historical soccer season came to an end after falling 4-1 to powerhouse Brentwood in the quarterfinals of the TSSAA Spring Fling on Tuesday night.
It was the first-ever trip to the state for the Golden Eagles (12-8) while Brentwood (20-2-1) was making its 17th appearance, winning four titles with seven
runners-up along the way.
"We have improved tremendously over the season and that starts with the culture that we’ve built through the years. Each senior class has added a bit to it and this group in particular brought the best out of each other, myself and the younger guys," Shelbyville Central Coach Chris Fritz said. "They are humble, hard-working, and selfless. We will miss Daniel, Gabriel, Gami, Edgar, and Chubby so much."
Brentwood scored three goals in the first half, the first off the foot of Reid McAdams from an assist by Cooper Bailey.
Aidan Parker scored a pair of goals in final minutes of the half to increase the lead to 3-0 at the intermission.
"We knew that Brentwood was a solid team and we lost 5-1 to them earlier in the season," Fritz said. "That was not the start we wanted but I thought we played much better and never quit in the second half."
Shelbyville Central cut the led to 3-1 off a penalty kick by senior Edger Solis early in the second half.
Brentwood added a goal later match by Jack Boring.
"Our guys overcame so much adversity to make it here and we had several experienced guys playing through nagging injuries. We were constantly underestimated and overlooked, but we never let that change our ambitions," Fritz said.
Golden Eagle fans showed up and were into the match till then end.
"The fans gave so much for us tonight and we appreciate the large crowd that has shared this journey with us. We always play with our fans on our minds because we know that we represent the hard-working values of most of our community," Fritz said. "The noise and atmosphere tonight was top-notch even until the final whistle. We hope that we made them proud this season in a way that hasn’t happened before."
Shelbyville Central will have a number of positions to fill next season but the cupboard is not bare.
"Our young guys have learned so much on this run as they have had to fill valuable spots or make big plays," Fritz said. "They are definitely a bright group, but they will have to fulfill that potential with hard work in offseason and playing high-level soccer year round."