Tennessee High's Aryana Patterson and Lana Lavinder celebrate after a goal against Grainger.
Tim Hayes
Brighton is Tennessee High's opponent on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the TSSAA Class AA girls soccer state tournament in Chattanooga and the biggest star for the Vikings will try to keep shining brightly.
Senior Aryana Patterson has put together the best season by an individual in the history of Tennessee High's program with a school-record 54 goals and has the Vikings three wins away from a state championship.
A special player on a special team during a special season.
That pretty much sums it up.
"You don't get players like that very often and when you do it is special," said Tennessee High coach Hunter Meade.
Last week, Patterson scored the only goal in regulation for Tennessee High in an eventual penalty-kick shootout loss to Greeneville in the regional finals. She found the back of the net for the team's first goal two days later in a 2-1 triumph over Anderson County in the sectional round.
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She did all that while battling illness.
"She had that stomach bug last week and still pushed through," Meade said. "Even at her lowest point, she's still a top player."
Patterson is raring and ready to go for the state tourney.
"Yes, I feel much better," she said. "I am back to 100 percent and ready to take on state."
That could be bad news for opponents as few have been able to slow down Patterson's path to the net.
"Her technical ability is just as good as her tactical ability," said Sullivan East coach Michael Husbands. "She knows how to create opportunities quickly and trying to guard her will make your head spin. Her ability to score is difficult to contain ... She loves to get the ball in tight spaces and draw in defenders, then bam, she is out of the tight space and into the open field. Her acceleration is insane. Once she is gone, she is gone."
Husbands is not alone in that assessment.
"Aryana is a special player," said Dobyns-Bennett coach Tony Weaver. "She is probably one of the best strikers we faced all year. She times her runs really well and when she has the opportunity to finish she is very accurate. Her speed helps her get behind defenders and once there she rarely makes a mistake."
Meade marvels at the nightly heroics of Patterson.
"Her ability to face people up and take people one-on-one impresses me the most," Meade said. "She's a left-footed player, but is equally talented with her right foot. She keeps defenders guessing. With her speed and athleticism, there's not many defenders who can keep up with her."
That's the mark of a great player: everybody in the stadium know who is getting the ball and still can't stop them.
"Ary is so skilled on the ball, but it's her speed and her ability to create space that makes her so good,' said teammate and fellow senior Chase Wolfenbarger. "She continues to impress me even after playing with her for four years."
Of course, this is not the case of Patterson being a one-girl wrecking crew.
"The key to scoring 54 goals is my team behind me," Patterson said. "They work hard to get the ball up to me and I just have to finish."
Senior Lana Lavinder has established the single-season school record for assists, Wolfenbarger is one of the area's best defenders, Mariah Skeens has made some clutch stops as goalkeeper and freshman Kadyn Kemmerer has emerged as star.
Sophia Streetman, Sydney Clark, Gracen Clark, Riley Leonard and Jenna Latham have also been key contributors just to name a few.
"They are a group that just works together well," Meade said. "No matter who I put on the field there's no egos. Everybody wants to have each other be successful. It's not just a 'me' mindset, it's a team mindset and that's been our biggest key to success. Whenever we score goals, it's not just one person doing all the work, we've had a lot of assisted goals and a lot of people getting involved in the action."
Tennessee High (16-2-1) is the top seed for the state tourney and meets Brighton (10-4-2), a school located about 30 miles from Memphis, on Wednesday at 11 a.m. on the campus of Chattanooga Christian.
"As an opposing coach, Tennessee High was one of the best teams we faced all year," Weaver said. "They work well together and are well-coached."
They also have a peerless player in Patterson, who hasn't taken this postseason run for granted.
"I love the team itself," Patterson said. "The girls on this team have become some of my closest friends while my coaches continue to push and encourage me, which I couldn't be more grateful for. ... I'm glad we've come this far in the season and I hope to continue advancing, but no matter how or when our season ends, I have enjoyed and loved every minute of it."
TSSAA Class AA Girls Soccer
State Tournament
Wednesday
Quarterfinals
at Chattanooga Christian
Tennessee High (16-2-1) vs. Brighton (10-4-2), 11 a.m.
Station Camp (14-7) vs. Valor College Prep (10-5-1), 1:30 p.m.
South Gibson (16-4) vs. Signal Mountain (14-6-1), 4 p.m.
Greeneville (13-8) vs. Franklin County (17-3-1), 6:30 p.m.
Thursday
Semifinals
at Chattanooga Christian
Tennessee High-Brighton winner vs. Station Camp-Valor winner, 4 p.m.
South Gibson-Signal Mountain winner vs. Greeneville-Franklin winner, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday
Finals
at Boyd Buchanan
Semifinal winners, 4 p.m.
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