Wednesday, May 2, 2001
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Wednesday, May 2, 2001 |
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Region champs crowned at Starr's Mill last week By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
Mark your calendars for the week of May 19. If there is a possibility that there could be a rematch between the Starr's Mill and McIntosh boys and girls soccer teams for the state championship, you do not want to miss it. The contests for the region championship were highly competitive and all four teams will play at a higher level, if you can believe it, in the state playoffs. In the boys game, both teams had some opportunities early on but to no avail. Starr's Mill started to put more pressure on the Chiefs halfway through the first half and both teams played more passionately. By the end of the first half, McIntosh was putting on the most pressure and just missed the net several times. Starr's Mill came out early in the second half and dominated. The Panthers missed a golden opportunity about a minute in, but capitalized three minutes later when Brandon Henry scored off a rebound. Five minutes later McIntosh almost answered off a corner kick, but came up short. The Panthers got a corner kick soon afterward and capitalized. Jason Daley got the goal, while Tim Murphy was credited with the assist. The two teams battled intensely for the remaining minutes of the game, but Starr's Mill emerged victorious. "We played our type of game in the second half," said panther Coach Mike Hanie. "We really spread the attack and got after them." The Panthers out-shot the Chiefs 18-5 and took 11 of those shots in the second half. The girls game was just as exciting, if not more so. The Lady Chiefs put on tons of pressure in the first 10 minutes and missed several golden opportunities. The Lady Panthers had a great opportunity early on as well, but both teams found themselves playing in the middle of the field for the second 10 minutes of the first half. With just under 20 minutes to go, McIntosh's Julie Herdic scored off an assist from Tabitha Lowey. The Lady Chiefs stepped up the pressure for awhile after the goal but came up empty. Starr's Mill put on the pressure in the final 10 minutes of the half but came up short as well. With just under two minutes remaining in the first half, McIntosh's Alicia Shulz took a direct kick outside the 18-yard box and scored. In the opening of the second half both teams played fairly evenly. Nine minutes into the first half, Starr's Mill's Alice Martin scored while in the middle of a scramble in front of the McIntosh goal. Five minutes later, Lowey pushed one past the Lady Panther keeper and with around five minutes remaining, Herdic knocked in her second goal of the evening. "We had four or five really good chances early," said Coach Stephen Buckner. "The girls really stepped up and played with a lot of emotion." This is the fifth consecutive region title for the Lady Chiefs and the fourth in a row under Buckner. In the battle for third place in region 4-AAAAA, Fayette County's girls defeated Newnan 3-1 in overtime, while the Fayette County boys lost to Lovejoy 2-1. The state playoffs began last night. McIntosh and Starr's Mill's boys hosted games against Windsor and Bradwell Institute respectively, while the Tigers traveled to face Benedictine. Assuming all three teams win, Starr's Mill will host the winner of Griffin/Tift County, McIntosh will host the winner of Warner Robins/Valdosta and Fayette County will face the winner of Coffee/Hardaway. The opening round of the girls tournament is tonight with McIntosh hosting Glynn Academy at 4 p.m., Starr's Mill taking on Wayne County at 5 p.m. and Fayette County's girls traveling to Jenkins for a game at 7 p.m. Assuming all three teams win, McIntosh will host the winner of Griffin/Lee County, Starr's Mill will host the winner of Hardaway/Tift County and Fayette County will face the winner of Lowndes/Warner Robins. Sandy Creek's girls are also in action tonight as they travel to take on Lakeside-Evans for a 6:30 p.m. match. If they win, they will face the winner of Cairo and Shaw Tuesday, May 8.
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