State soccer tournament quarterfinal rounds postponed – Chattanooga Times Free Press

Jim Schermerhorn received the message Wednesday morning while his Notre Dame girls’ soccer team descended from Monteagle on the way to Murfreesboro.

The Lady Irish were past the point of no return.

The quarterfinal rounds of the Class A/AA and AAA state tournaments were postponed until today due to poor field conditions at the Richard Siegel complex in Murfreesboro.

“For the safety of the athletes and the preservation of the fields for further use during the tournament, we have decided to postpone the start of the tournament by one day,” TSSAA official Matthew Gillespie said in a release.

The delay means the Division I state finalists will play three games in three days. That brings into play the advantage of having a deep bench — reserves who can play without a significant drop-off in production.

“Conditioning is going to be huge,” Schermerhorn said. “If you have only 11 players and can’t draw from your bench, it will kill you.”

His team and Chattanooga Christian both are affected by the delay. They could meet for the fourth time this season in Saturday’s A/AA final, but both teams would have to win tonight and Friday.

“You have to be prepared for anything,” Schermerhorn said. “It won’t be easy.”

The delay should have no effect on Chattanoooga’s two teams in the Division II-AA tournament. It’s a final four, already scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

Girls Preparatory School (10-3-2) will still face Briarcrest Christian (11-3-2) in a semifinal that is a rematch of the state final from last year. GPS’s Bruisers won that game. Baylor (11-4-3) will face Ensworth (11-1-1) on Friday as well.

“They’re not changing our schedule,” GPS coach Patrick Winecoff said. “Our times will still be the same. We’ll be ready.”

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP