The Cascade Lady Champions’ season came to a close in the TSSAA Class A State Tournament at The Baylor School against the Chattanooga School of Arts & Sciences, 4-1, on Wednesday afternoon. 

Lady Patriots’ freshman superstar, Ayanna Hamler, scored her 35th and 36th goals of the season to lead the way for CSAS in a game that was level at 1-1 in the 60th minute. Senior forward Ellie Chapa etched her name into the Cascade history books as the first-ever goalscorer at the State Tournament with her first half finish.

Things started off rocky in the opening 20 minutes for Cascade as they tried to adjust and deal with the powerful Hamler. In the 5th minute, her one-on-one opportunity with Cascade GK Irais Rojas from a perfectly weighted through ball by fellow freshman, Ravyn Anthony, but her outside-of-the-foot attempt deflected wide off of the post.

In the 9th minute, CSAS crashed the box on a corner kick, getting to the ball first around the 6-yard box but the shot attempt hit off of the crossbar and out for a goal kick. In the 13th minute, Hamler again found herself through on goal, but Rojas did just enough by charging at the last second to throw Hamler off and force her shot to trickle just wide of the post.

Then, in the 22nd minute, the seal was broken and the 4-game shutout streak was over. Senior Ella Hurst found marginal space just outside of the 18-yard box and fired a left-footed shot that Rojas saved down to her left, but her parry was only as far as the onrushing Hamler who arrived ahead of Kelsey Shatley to give the Lady Patriots a 1-0 lead. 

Cascade showed their championship mettle in the immediate aftermath of conceding. In the 25th minute, Lexi Comstock won the ball off of CSAS’ high line, and a slip by substitute defender, Kallan Hilkman, allowed Comstock a free run with a 2-on-1 in the attacking third. With Ellie Chapa to her right, Cascade’s freshman forward played a delightful ball to take senior defender Stella Murray out of the equation and put Chapa 1-on-1 with Phillips. Chapa took her time and stayed composed, passing the ball into the far post with perfect placement into the back of the net to draw Cascade level at 1-1.

Lexi Comstock (8) provided the assist for Cascade's lone goal Wednesday.

For the final 15 minutes of the first half, it was actually the Lady Champions who looked the better side and more likely to find a second goal. In the 37th minute, senior right back Dalyce Bird was shown a yellow card for a tactical foul. 

CSAS only had one more chance – an Anthony offsides goal in the 39th minute– before the halftime whistle blew. Cascade looked like they were emboldened by their equalizer; that some of the mental hurdles about playing a team much bigger than them physically were put to rest. When the halftime whistle blew, the game was all level at 1-1 and was right there for the taking.

However, as the second half began, the Lady Patriots seemed to refocus and play like the team they looked like in the opening 25 minutes of the first half instead of the final 15. 

In the 59th minute, Hamler registered her first shot-on-goal of the second half that required a brilliant right-footed save by Rojas. In the 60th minute, Hurst was also denied by Rojas diving down to her left to push the shot just wide and out for a corner.

Irais Rojas (00) finished with a game-high 14 saves against CSAS.

Finally, in the 61st minute, the Lady Patriots found their second goal. Off an outswinging corner kick, Sofia Turpin appeared to get away with a pretty obvious handball in the box to settle the ball in place for her right foot to poke the ball past a diving Rojas and into the back of the net for the 2-1 lead. After a short conversation with his assistant, the center referee decided to still give the goal.

Three minutes later in the 64th minute, the controversy would be put to bed when Hamler turned around three Cascade defenders during a breathtaking moment of individual brilliance to get her 1-on-1 with Rojas, and this time Hamler was able to find space to pass the ball into the net and double the Lady Patriots lead. 

In the 67th minute, the door would be completely shut on Cascade’s tournament hopes when Ella Hurst finally found the scoresheet thanks to an exquisite move and cross by Hamler to pull the ball back into the penalty area and give CSAS a cushiony 4-1 lead. 

When the final whistle blew, the Lady Champions’ best two-year run in program history came to a close. In that time under the guidance of head coach Wendy Williams, Cascade won two District 9-A Championships, two Region 5-A Championships, and finished in the final eight at the State Tournament both years. Before 2023, the program had never played in the State Tournament before, but with a promising freshman class set to return for their sophomore season in 2025, who’s to say this two-year run won’t turn into three.

Cascade’s season ends at 14-3-1 (8-0).