Lions come up short in state final

HUNTSVILLE -- The Briarwood Christian School soccer teams’ hopes for a title sweep came up short, as Sam Hartley scored two goals in the second half — including the match winner in the 67th minute — to give Randolph the AHSAA Class 4A/5A Boys’ Soccer Championship on Friday night.

Randolph took an early advantage on a goal by Barrett Butler in the 23rd minute, but Briarwood’s Logan Frost scored 10 minutes before halftime.

Frost helped give the Lions the lead when he battled through multiple Raider defenders inside the penalty area in the second. He passed off to Hamilton Bowen, who scored.

“Frost had a breakaway and carved up their defense through the middle, beat several of their backs and slotted it past their keeper,” Briarwood coach Dr. Shawn Brower said. “On the second goal, Frost had attracted a lot of attention, and Bowen went down the left side about 12 yards out, took the pass and put it in the corner.”

But not long after Bowen’s goal, Hartley tied the game again when Randolph was awarded a penalty kick. He made no mistake on the shot, which knotted the score at 2-2 seven minutes after intermission.

Hartley the put the winning goal in the net off an assist by Sridhar Karne after the Raiders had multiple opportunities within close range.

“It was deep in inside the six-yard-box. We had multiple opportunities to clear. It was kind of a scrum. The assist man [Karne] was almost on the end line, and it was bang-bang play,” Brower said.

It’s the seventh state boys championship for Randolph (24-2-3), which puts the program in third place behind John Carroll and Grissom. As for Briarwood (16-6-3), the Lions were going for their fifth state title, but the young Lions squad — 10 freshmen and just one senior — came up one match short.

“The boys surpassed the goals they had set, and they surpassed my expectations with such a young team,” Brower said. “Being 30 minutes away from a state championship is incredible. They were playing their best game of the season, and the No. 1 team of the whole season was on the ropes. Their coach told us, ‘No team fought us with more heart than you guys did.’ That’s a testimony to the heart of these young guys.”