For the first time in TSSAA history, a public school in West Tennessee will be represented in the state soccer championship match.
The Westview Lady Chargers (18-5-1) knocked of Chattanooga School for Arts and Sciences 5-1 Thursday night in the semifinals of the Class A state soccer tournament.
Westview jumped on the board nine minutes in when Ashlee Brent scored on a deep shot from the right wing. Hayden Markowski added a goal five minutes later to take a 2-0 lead into the half.
The lead was trimmed to one when CSAS hit a bender on a free kick five minutes into the second half.
Westview responded when Ashlee Brent scored again in the 56th minute on an assist from Cambry Hatler. Thirteen minutes later, Markowski hit a great cross that Chanler Spendlove nailed a header in the back of net. Spendlove capped off the scoring in the final ten minutes to advance to the championship match.
The defense continues to shine, as the goal this evening was the first surrendered in seven matches. Kella Simmons had her best game of her high school career between the pipes. The freshman keeper had 15 saves on the night, laying out and knocking away several shots in the first half.
The combination on the back line of Harper Jones, Tess Anderson, Kaydence Papich, Alyssa Williams, Hayden Swaim, and Crislyn Warren have been phenomenal through this stretch run.
Westview will become the first public school in West Tennessee to play in the state championship match. Their opponent will be Merroll Hyde, who advanced with their 1-0 win over Kingston. First touch will be Saturday at 1:30 EST at Boyd Buchanan High School in Chattanooga.