Playing for injured brother, Ryan Bertotti leads Hendersonville in TSSAA state soccer tournament
MURFREESBORO — While the Hendersonville boys soccer team was preparing for its return to the TSSAA state tournament after a 14-year hiatus, Myles Bertotti was undergoing surgery Monday at TriStar Skyline Medical Center in Nashville.
On Tuesday, Bertotti left the hospital. His first stop was the Commandos' team send-off. His second stop was the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex for their Class AAA quarterfinal against Rossview.
"I don't know how good it is for him to do that," Hendersonville coach Alex Tummons said. "But we're really proud of everything that he's done. That just shows you what kind of kid he is and what this team means to these boys. Even with a broken leg and the heat and on pain medicine, he wanted to come and make sure he was here."
With Myles, a sophomore midfielder, looking on from his wheelchair, his brother Ryan scored the opening goal of the Commandos' 3-1 win. Hendersonville (16-2-3) will face Bearden in the semifinals on Wednesday, two wins away from the fourth TSSAA state championship in program history.
"Seeing what he's gone through, just for him to come support us, that kind of takes a little weight off our shoulders," Ryan Bertotti said.
Late in the second half of Hendersonville's sectional game Saturday against defending state champion Brentwood, Myles was taken down in the Bruins' penalty box. According to Tummons, Bertotti's right leg snapped in half. With his teammates emotionally shaken, Bertotti left the field in an ambulance — but not before he implored them to win the game.
The Commandos did as Bertotti wanted. Trailing 5-4 in double overtime, Ryan Bertotti converted a game-tying penalty kick, sending the game to a penalty shootout which Hendersonville won 6-5.
Myles almost never leaves the field when healthy, and Tummons called him "one of our best players." But the way the Commandos are far from a one-man squad, and the way they've rallied in the wake of Myles' injury has shown as much. Three different players scored in Tuesday's win.
"When push comes to shove, this is just a game, and when one of their brothers is down and hurt, that's something they really take seriously," Tummons said. "It's just great motivation."
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Ryan and Myles' father, Bobby, is a former Hendersonville soccer player himself. On his goal Tuesday, Ryan got the ball 30 yards from goal and recalled a piece of advice Bobby often tells him: not every shot has to be 100%, it just has to be comfortable. So the junior midfielder "just took it and ripped it," curling it past the Rossview goalkeeper.
The past three days have been tough on the Bertotti family. Ryan said Myles, for his part, is "bummed" he has a cast and metal rods in his leg instead of getting to experience playing in the state tournament. But the last thing he wants is for Ryan and the rest of the Commandos to feel bad for him.
"That extra emotion and effort has kind of pushed us through," Ryan said. "The team bonding, everything do in the locker room has been good for us."
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA soccer: Hendersonville gets first state tournament win since 2010
