Lady Red Raiders win, reach state semifinals
An unforgettable moment for Baylor senior soccer player Emery Carico occurred in her final home game Saturday, when the Lady Red Raiders hosted a TSSAA Division II-AA state quarterfinal.
Typically excelling on the defensive end of the field at center back, Carico lifted off to provide the final goal in a runaway 4-0 victory over Lipscomb Academy, which had allowed an average of just one goal per game entering the day.
Carico timed her leap perfectly to send a powerful header into the back of the net off a perfectly placed corner kick by sophomore Zoe Misenhimer in the 62nd minute.
“I go into every game thinking I can score, but I hadn’t all season until today, so this was a really big moment for me,” Carico said. “When I saw the ball coming, I was like, this is the one. I was like, I need to get this one in because we have been waiting all season. To have this moment and share it with this team is special. Especially in my last game here at Baylor.”
The Carico family has made a big impact on coach Curtis Blair’s program, as Emery and her twin sister and teammate Ellie hope to end their final prep season with the Lady Red Raiders’ 10th state championship and first since 2017.
The Lady Red Raiders (14-1-1) certainly appear capable. They have outscored opponents 64-7 this season, with their only loss coming to unbeaten Bearden, 3-1.
Baylor has scored four goals in 11 of 16 games, which includes 16 goals in the first 10 minutes of a match and nine of those in the first five minutes. Baylor senior Sophia Mize, who has committed to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, helped the offense strike quickly Saturday as she scored off an Elizabeth Stophel assist just four minutes into the quarterfinal.
“What’s so special is our girls are more worried about the ‘B’ than they are the me,” Blair said. “You can see it on our bench whenever anyone scores. It doesn’t matter who scores, they all get excited. To share in others’ success is so much fun to be a part of and see in a team. They are all about each other and trying to accomplish our goal of winning a state championship.”
The Lady Red Raiders will face Hutchison (10-4-2) in a state semifinal Thursday at GPS as Chattanooga once again hosts the TSSAA state tournaments for girls’ soccer. Baylor will be a host site as well, but the Lady Red Raiders won’t play there again.
Lipscomb Academy (11-3-1) took a major blow before halftime when Baylor scored its second goal in the 36th minute, off a 40-yard, high-arching free kick from Misenhimer on the left sideline that went over a crowd in front of the goal and bounced into the net. One minute later, senior Skylar Schwartz drilled a goal past two defenders for a 3-0 lead off a great setup pass from senior Jada Cooper.
Baylor keepers Sara Hill and Campbell Hoss combined for the team’s 10th shutout of the year, and the Carico sisters shared a special hug after the win.
“My twin sister and I have never really gotten to play much together in high school because I tore my ACL my sophomore year and she is injured with a torn ACL this year,” Emery said. “But we have always cheered each other on. My goal today was special, because that was for her. Now we want to keep going and win a state championship.”
› Harpeth Hall 4, Chattanooga Christian 1: The Lady Chargers lost their DII-AA quarterfinal, wrapping up a 12-3-2 season.
DII-A quarterfinal
› Silverdale Baptist 7, Harding Academy 0: The Lady Seahawks put on a secondhalf masterpiece in which they scored all of their goals. Senior Abigail Witten scored four times and was one of six players with an assist.
Silverdale (18-2) will face Evangelical Christian (16-2) in a state semifinal Thursday at Baylor.
TSSAA sectionals Class AAA
› Oakland 5, Rhea County 0: With the loss, the Lady Golden Eagles finished 15-6.
› Siegel 2, Walker Valley 1: The loss ended the Lady Mustangs’ season.
Class AA
› Signal Mountain 3, Tullahoma 0: The Lady Eagles (13-6-1) posted their fifth straight shutout this postseason to advance to the state tournament and will play in a quarterfinal Wednesday at Baylor. Signal Mountain appeared in four straight state finals from 2017-20, winning three of those.
Class A
› Arts & Sciences 3, Chuckey Doak 2: Cheyenne Frye scored two goals, including one off a corner kick from Zeva Phillips, and Anna Chen converted a penalty kick to send CSAS (11-9-3) to its third straight state tournament. The Lady Patriots will play in a state quarterfinal Wednesday at GPS.
› Kingston 5, Polk County 0: The Lady Wildcats finished the year 12-4-1 overall.