The result, however, wasn’t such a treat for either coach. And for different reasons.
“Both coaches will leave disappointed. For different reasons,” said Collierville’s Gareth Munro. “They will be disappointed they didn’t get the result they deserved and in all fairness, they were the better team.
“We’re disappointed because we were a million miles off from the way we want to play. That’s not even close to the standard for our program over the last five-and-a-half years.”
Bartlett coach Brandon Morgan concurred.
“I feel like we were the better team but we didn’t prove it. We weren’t clinical enough when it mattered. This game’s not about who the better team is; it’s about who scores the most goals and allows the least. It doesn’t matter if you’re better if the end product isn’t there.”
Along with leaving both benches dissatisfied, the result didn’t do a whole lot to clear up the postseason tournament seedings in what has been a “group of death” this spring.
Houston is comfortably at the top but the Dragons, Arlington and the Panthers remained tightly bunched below with a week-and-a-half left before the playoffs begin. Bartlett visits Arlington on April 30 while Collierville travels to Houston the following day.
It will be a tense round of games. Just like Tuesday’s was.
Collierville (5-3-3) opened the scoring midway through the first half when Felipe Assumpcao got on the end of a Cooper Nelson cross to finish. Bartlett tied it just before halftime thanks to an own goal; Dragons’ goalkeeper Grant Roberts came up with a save only for a teammate to knock it out of his hands and into the net.
The Panthers then snatched the lead nine minutes into the second when Ethan Watts set up Ricardo Chagala for a fine finish. That came as part of a dominating spell for Bartlett (10-2-2), which was unlucky not to add a third and even a fourth.
“This game requires a lot of thought and a lot of composure,” said Morgan. “You’ve got to make a lot of quick second-decisions, playing with your head up and seeing what you have in front of you. And having the composure to make a good decision.”
The Dragons got the equalizer with about 12 minutes left in unusual fashion, Mateo Treadwell scoring an “olimpico.” The goal directly from a corner was his second of the year and while Munro was delighted to salvage something from the match, he was also frustrated.
Particularly with good chances his team had early in the second half, when first Assumpcao and then Nelson were denied by Bartlett ‘keeper Donny Cruz.
“Not to sound negative but I’d like to think we’re a better team than a team that just scores from a corner,” he said. “We had a 1 v. 1 breakaway and we didn’t capitalize on it. That’s a chance that kids on our team should be finishing.”
In other matches
Briefly: Trey Johnson, Ben Myers, Van Murdock, Sebastian Oliveros and Taylor Damore also scored for Arlington in a 6-0 win over Cordova. The Tigers got all their goals in the second half. ... CBHS and MUS picked up region wins, with the Brothers downing Briarcrest, 3-1, and the Owls blanking St. Benedict, 4-0. ... Northpoint celebrated Senior Night with a 4-1 win over ECS as Miller Lashlee scored three times and assisted on Maverick Ray’s goal.
In baseball
Briefly: Collin Bland’s two-run home run in the top of the sixth helped Houston to a 7-4 win over Bartlett. ... Collierville celebrated Senior Day with a 16-1 victory over Germantown. Jett Gassid, Tanner Wages and Avery Neal all had multiple hits and Wyatt Elder picked up his first career win. ... Carter McKay homered and Jack Hibbard drove in three runs as Arlington stayed hot with an 8-7 win over Briarcrest. Brennan Bomar went deep and finished 3 for 3 with three RBI for the Saints.
CBHS had no trouble with St. Benedict, winning 17-0. ... MUS ran its record to 17-8 with a 7-2 road win over Whitehaven. ... Evan Bloomer went the distance, allowing five hits and striking out eight for FACS in a 5-1 win over ECS. Josh Wright drove in two and Bloomer helped his own cause with two hits and an RBI.
Trezevant swept a pair from Douglass, winning 9-3 and 12-0. DeMarion Ankston hit a home run and drove in two in the second game and Terry Tucker also plated a pair of runs.
In softball
Briefly: Brittanie Layton went 3 for 5 and drove in five runs as Arlington improved to 23-4 with a 14-3 victory over Bartlett. McKenzie Walker went 4 for 5 and scored four runs, as did Addie Graham, who had a 3 for 4 day. Avery Wright also collected three hits while Kendall Wilkie surrendered just four hits while running her record to 6-0. ... Maci Frederick went 5 for 5 with a pair of doubles and seven runs batted in as Houston outslugged Collierville, 21-13. Skye Ebersole also doubled twice and was 4 for 5 with four RBI as the Mustangs pounded out 21 hits. Addison Morgan led the Dragons with three hits and four RBI. ... Laney Lawson struck out 10 in a five-inning perfect game and Brighton remained undefeated in district play with a 10-0 victory over Millington.
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