There is an old adage that football is a game of inches.

The same could be said for soccer, to which the third-ranked McIntosh Lady Chiefs could attest after losing to top-ranked Marist in the quarterfinals of the Class AAAA state playoffs Saturday in Peachtree City.

Marist remained undefeated with the victory, moving to 17-0 on the season, and it was only the third time this season that one of its games was decided by one goal.

The victory was especially sweet for Marist, which lost to McIntosh in the semifinals of the state playoffs in both 2005 and 2006.

Saturday’s match would have gone into overtime, but a 40-yard shot by McIntosh’s Kerri Reid sailed high off the right goal post, within inches of landing in the net, midway through the first half.

Reid got her foot on another ball approximately 11 minutes later, blasting it into a crowd of players, and the ball trickled out to Kate Marnock, who booted the rebound into the net to hand McIntosh a 1-0 lead.

Marnock’s goal was only the fifth scored against Marist this season.

But Marist answered with a game-tying goal seven minutes later from Mary Coffed, and it sealed the victory with another goal from Coffed with 25:57 left in the second half.

Left unmarked in front of McIntosh’s net, Coffed blasted a cross from Caiti Nofi past McIntosh goalkeeper Nikki Atkinson high into the upper left corner of the net for the game-winner.

McIntosh had its chances to at least tie the match late in the second half, — it outshot Marist 15-7 and had four corner kicks to the Lady War Eagles’ one — but it failed to exploit its opportunities.

Marist was physical from the onset, consistently knocking McIntosh players off the ball and, according to McIntosh coach Marcia Clark, significantly affecting her team’s offense.

“They put a lot of pressure on us,” McIntosh coach Marcia Clark said. “They are a great team. They made it a physical game, much more physical than any game we’ve played in the past. They just took us off our game as far as finishing is concerned.

“If we played 10 times, maybe we would win five. In a way that makes you feel better, but in a way that makes you feel worse.”

The Lady Chiefs' best scoring chance late came on a free kick 10 yards outside the goal box from Olivia Tucker, but her shot flew high and wide right.

McIntosh finished the season 14-4-1.

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