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Six local teams punch their ticket for state soccer playoffs

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

The baseball season is nearing the halfway point and by the end of the The bar has been set for Whitewater High School’s soccer program and it is rather high. On Monday night, both the boys and girls teams won region tournament games assuring them spots in the AAAA state tournament. Not bad for teams made up entirely of freshmen and sophomores.

The Lady Wildcats hosted Douglas County and won 6-1. Whitewater put on a lot of pressure in the first half but only came away with one goal when Kayla Emerson knocked one in with just under six minutes remaining in the half. The second half was a different story as the Lady Wildcats scored three goals in the first 15 minutes. Lizzie Spratt scored the first goal of the half with Brittany Vining scoring the next two. Douglas County got a goal with just under 15 minutes to play but Bailey Powell would score two goals in the final six minutes, including one on a penalty kick to give Whitewater the biggest win in their young history.

“I told the girls at halftime that if they wanted it bad enough, they would pick it up” said Coach Heather Allen. “They did and I am so proud of them.”

Though the boys were away, they also got a big win.

Daniel Higginbotham scored the first goal of a 2-0 win with a near post header off of a corner kick midway through the first half. Ryan Pugh scored on a breakaway early in the second half to give the Wildcats some breathing room and secure the win and their entry in to the state tournament.

Coach Shane Pulliam praised his scorers but also felt that Kyle Weston, Zach Taylor, Andy Debusk, Jordan Cooper, Matt McCrite and Kenny Cowart stood out in the win.

The girls will host Northgate tonight at 6 p.m. while the boys will play at Woodward Academy. Assuming they win and the McIntosh boys and girls win their games in the first two rounds of the region playoffs, Friday night will feature a double header rematch at McIntosh for the region title.

McIntosh’s girls defeated Whitewater earlier this season, while the boys tied.

On Saturday, the 10th ranked Lady Wildcats faced Druid Hills and won 2-0. Kayla Emerson and Brittany Vining scored the goals for Whitewater while Caitlin Beale, Kayla Stillions and Allison Fannin anchored the defense. The boys lost to the fifth ranked Druid Hills team 3-2.

In other 4-AAAA games from over the weekend, Sandy Creek’s girls picked up wins over Lovejoy and Creekside. The Lady Patriots beat Lovejoy 4-2 and then shutout Creekside’s Lady Seminoles 8-0. The boys fell to Lovejoy 3-2 but defeated Creekside 14-0. On Monday, the Lady Patriots lost in their final game of the season to Woodward Academy 7-0.

McIntosh’s Lady Chiefs completed play in the Lady Cougar Classic in Newnan with two 3-0 wins over the weekend. They defeated Pope on Friday and Summerville, SC on Saturday. The two wins kept McIntosh’s record perfect at 16-0-1. Jesse Lenze had two goals and an assist in the Pope game with Caroline Austin scoring the other goal and Arlan Whittle and Kellie Myles getting assists.

Against Summerville, Lenze had a goal, as did Amy Pippin and Myles, while Whittle, Kaelyn Horton and Allison Fratto got the assists.

On Friday night, Starr’s Mill’s boys and girls wrapped up the region 4-AAAAA titles with 5-0 wins over Fayette County. The girls took a 2-0 lead into the half after goals from Kelley O’Hara, assisted by Beth Meadors, and Gina Goforth, assisted by O’Hara. Fayette County’s goalkeeper Staci Pugh came up huge for the Lady Tigers, making a number of key stops and keeping her team in the game.

Though she repeatedly shut down O’Hara in the second half, Goforth added two more goals, both assisted by Viktoria Frost, while Adrienne Phillips added a goal on an assist from Katie Jacobsen.

Starr’s Mill coach Greg Shifflett praised the efforts of Sarah Burke, who won numerous balls for the team all night. Shifflett stated that he was pleased with the team’s defense, especially the play of stopper Jamie Daly.

The boys teams played to a scoreless draw in the first half thanks to a tremendous performance from Fayette County goalkeeper Stephen Herget.

Starr’s Mill’s offense came alive in the second half though with Nick Bugara scoring the first goal less than six minutes in on an assist from Brian Smith. Corey Cross would net the next two goals, one unassisted and one on an assist from Wes Kent. Kyle Nowicki scored the fourth goal with Bugara assisting and Shane Moroney scored the fifth and final goal in the waning seconds of the game.

“They won the air game in the first half,’ said Starr’s Mill coach Mike Hanie. “Once we spread out our attack and played ball through on the ground, we were successful.” Hanie was pleased with his team’s ball control in capturing their sixth consecutive region title.

Though the boys and girls of Starr’s Mill had one region game remaining on their schedule, it was mathematically impossible for either team to be caught. They both tied Salem on Monday night and will open the state tournament at home next week.

For updates on region tournament play and state tournament brackets, visit www.thecitizennews.com.