The Ravenwood boys soccer team crosses the field to the fans in soccer tradition following their 4-0 victory in sectionals to make state.

Brentwood Home Page news reports
The Ravenwood boys soccer team will travel to Murfreesboro and the 2011 BlueCross Spring Fling state tournament with its 4-0 sectional win early Saturday afternoon against Wilson Central.

It'll be the Raptors' first trip ever to the state after winning their first district and region titles in the past two weeks. RHS (15-2-1) will play at 4:30 p.m. against Germantown Houston (16-2-3) in the TSSAA Class AAA quarterfinals at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex.

Sophomore Luke Ethridge (17) and Grant Lowder celebrate Ehtridge's goal to make it 4-0 against Wilson Central. (Photos by Peg Fredi)

Sophomore Eduardo Magallanes shows skills during the sectional win.

Gabe Laurence (8), right, scored the Raptors' opening goal.

Senior midfielder Gabe Laurence opened the scoring with a goal just 1 1/2 minutes into the game, and senior Andrew Mason made it a 2-0 lead 7 minutes later.

First-year coach Ken White, a former professional and college coach, said that on a scale of 1 to 10, he'd give his team a 6.

"We cannot ever let our guard down," White said, who now has four days to prepare the Region 6-AAA champs before their next game.

"We allowed them back into the game," he said of Region 5-AAA runner-up Wilson Central. "Who knows what might have happened."

White gave the entire team props for their play, however.

"I teach the team concept, not the I concept," he said. "Every single player played today."

He singled out several players, starting with freshman Justin Karl.

"He did the same job he did the other day," White said, referring to Karl shadowing Overton's best offensive player and shutting him down.

Karl, whose shin was iced immediately after the game, said the team got a lot of chances and took advantage of them. He mentioned how great it was to have teammate Wil Linder, a University of Memphis signee, back in the game after injury.

Linder's goal 30 minutes into the game put RHS up 3-0. He had missed the last two regular-season games, two district tourney wins and the regional semifinal before seeing limited action in the region final.

Senior Brian Vermuelen and sophomore Mike Giangreco combined for the shutout in goal.

Mason and senior Sean Fitzpatrick added assists, and sophomore Luke Ethridge scored the other goal.

Overton, the District 12-AAA champion that Ravenwood shut out in the region finals, also made the eight-team AAA state tourney field along with other Midstate teams Riverdale and Cookeville. Overton ousted defending state champion Hendersonville to make state for the first time since 1988.

RHS senior Sean Fitzpatrick (21) had an assist.	Freshman Justin Karl played shutdown defense.
	Keeper Mke Giangreco combined on shutout.
Sophomore Dylan Rose maneuvers past defender.	Samuel Stevenson (5) moves the ball for RHS.

Magallanes works on defense.		Rose takes ball on offense.