RHS earns home game in Saturday sectional round

Brentwood Home Page news reports
Ravenwood’s soccer team captured the Region 6-AAA championship Thursday with a 3-0 victory over visiting Overton, with junior Samuel Stevenson scoring two goals to lead the Raptors.

Star midfielder/forward Wil Linder even got some playing time -- and assisted on a goal -- after being injured before the last two regular-season games, Ravenwood’s only two losses. The Raptors, who have brought up five freshmen, played the whole side except for the other two goalkeepers.

Senior Ben Semeraro goes up for the ball as junior Samuel Stevenson, who scored two goals, lends support in the 3-0 win. (Photos by Peg Fredi)

Senior keeper Brian Vermeulen got the shutout  for RHS, which scored all three goals in the first half.

With the win, RHS earned the right to host Saturday’s sectional game with a chance at making next week’s state tournament in Murfreesboro. The game against Region 5-AAA runner-up Wilson Central, a 3-0 loser to defending state champ Hendersonville, is tentatively set for 11 a.m.

 “I talked to the boys all week long about maturity, not looking beyond tonight’s game – even though we’re guaranteed Saturday,” said Ken White, a former professional and college coach in his first season at the Ravenwood helm.

“Now, if you don’t win Saturday, you don’t go forward. We control our destiny. We have the opportunity to go to the state.”

Stevenson scored his first goal unassisted, while sophomore Dylan Rose got the second goal on an assist from junior TK Kastritis. Linder, a University of Memphis signee, got the assist for Stevenson’s second goal off a corner kick.

Freshman Justin Karl (6) played stellar defense for the Raptors.

“I gave him a few moment so he could wet his whistle,” White said. “I told him to take his time to get in the flow of the game. He’s been out 2, 3, 4 weeks.”

Ravenwood got exceptional play from two of the freshmen, defender Justin Karl and midfielder Alec Velez, the coach said. Velez actually wore Linder’s jersey during the district tournament final four, when the Raptors rallied to beat Franklin 3-2 in overtime on a “golden goal” and then blanked rival Brentwood.

Karl was assigned to defend Overton’s offensive standout. “He’s a freshman who’s disciplined and who shadows a player, and he just shut down their #24,” White said.

White said his team is where he planned to be at the beginning of the season, treating each game like it was an FC Cup – or a Super Bowl – following a 38-game English Premier League season. He also said his players are learning how to play roles and buy into the squad concept.

“Tonight I liked the maturity, the teamwork, the team identity, and the leadership of all the players,” the Raptors coach said. “We needed everybody to step up, and everybody stepped up.”