If you are an avid high school soccer fan, you've been waiting for this game for a long time.

McIntosh High School will be the setting for two incredible games Saturday night when the boys and girls soccer teams host Starr's Mill. All four teams are currently ranked in their classifications. Starr's Mill's girls are ranked number one in AAA, while the boys are ranked seventh, and McIntosh's girls are ranked number two in AAAA, while the boys team is ranked seventh.

Each team is stacked with talent, as ODP and high level club players round out the lineups. McIntosh's boys team has a lot of offensive firepower in Beau Balesky and Matt Clement, while the Lady Chiefs are led by the region's leading scorer, Julie Herdic.

Herdic currently has 26 goals and two assists.

McIntosh annually fields very athletic soccer teams. The starting lineup from the girls basketball team starts for the soccer team, which also features some of the state's top cross country runners. The boys team works very hard and uses speed and athleticism to take advantage of teams early.

Starr's Mill's girls are no slouches. They are still continuing a winning streak from last season and also have many girls that play high levels of club soccer. Alison Graham, Kacy Murray, Janet Burke and Marcy Hubbard have all come up big offensively for the Lady Panthers this season and their defense has stopped several teams from breaking Starr's Mill's streak. Currently, the Lady Panthers have out-scored their opponents 69-5. McIntosh's girls have performed a similar feat, out-scoring their opponents 58-1.

The Starr's Mill boys are 5-2-2 this season. One of their losses and both ties came in overtime, which shows that the Panthers are a team that hangs in there. The Panthers put 20 goals on the board in two games last weekend and are gaining confidence by the day. A win over their crosstown rivals could propel them deep a long way season.

The games begin Saturday night at McIntosh at 6 p.m., with the boys playing before the girls. Next year, after a statewide classification mix-up is resolved, these two schools may meet twice a season. Until then, this will be the only game that will let you determine which team is the best in the county, and maybe even the state.

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