Merrol Hyde captures program's fourth TSSAA girls soccer state championship in Class A

Merrol Hyde captured its fourth TSSAA girls soccer state championship in the past six seasons after shutting out Westview, 3-0, for the Class A title at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga on Oct. 30.

Emmeline Edwards scored a pair of goals and was named championship game MVP. Gabby Cruz added another goal as the Lady Hawks completely dominated the second half, scoring all three of its goals in a 17-minute period against the defending Class A state champs.

Edwards scored in the 61st minute, unassisted, to break a scoreless first half. Cruz would follow three minutes later, off a pass from Peyton Evans, for a 2-0 Merrol Hyde lead. Edwards would bookend the scoring with a goal in the 78th minute to punctuate the Lady Hawks’ seventh straight trip to the state title game.

Division II held its state championships on Oct. 29 as BGA claimed the DII-A state title and Harpeth Hall took the DII-AA crown.

It’s the first state championship for Merrol Hyde (20-2-1) in two years as the Lady Hawks earn redemption after Westview’s 2-0 win in last year’s state championship game. Merrol Hyde captured back-to-back crowns in 2021 and 2022 and also had state runner-up finishes in 2018, 2020, 2023 and 2025.

The Lady Hawks outshot Westview by a whopping 36-2, that included peppering Westview’s defense for 21 shots in the second half alone. Goalie Keila Simmons finished with 13 saves for Westview (13-5-1).

The Lady Hawks gave up only one goal through the state tournament, beating Adamsville, 7-0, in the quarterfinal and University School of Johnson City, 2-1, in the semifinal.

The Division I championship games will continue today with the Class AA state championship between South Gibson and Liberty Creek at noon, CT, followed by Houston vs Collierville in the AAA title game at 3 p.m.

This story will be updated after each game concludes.

Reach The Tennessean’s high school sports editor, George Robinson, at georgerobinsontheleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Merrol Hyde captures program’s fourth TSSAA girls soccer state championship in Class A