The four local girls teams that made their respective state soccer tournaments won their opening round games.

Fayette County (11-6-2) traveled to Windsor Forest and won 1-0 on penalty kicks. Staci Pugh and Jenny Ross each scored goals in the shoot out and Pugh also forced Windsor to miss four straight penalty kicks. “It was a tough match from start to finish. We had some good chances but Windsor played well. It was a well played match. The girls keep working hard and Staci played great,” said Fayette County coach Ben Thacker.

The win sets up a game tonight against Tift County at 5 p.m. Tift County (15-1-1) has had a tremendous season, scoring 94 goals and allowing only 10. They have posted 10 shutouts this season and their only loss came to Heritage on Apr. 18. They lost 2-1.

Starr’s Mill (13-2-1), ranked third in AAAAA, defeated Camden County 9-0 in the opening round. Gina Goforth netted five goals, while Katie Jacobsen and Laura Mccalla each scored two. Jacobsen also had two assists, as did Adrienne Phillips, while Tannah Castro, Bailey Raga, Stefanie Adams and Carlie Banks each had one. Allie Matulia was the goalkeeper and made one save.

The win set up a second round match with Colquitt County (13-5). Colquitt County defeated Stephenson 7-2 in the first round and the win snapped a two game losing streak. The Lady Packers have out scored their opponents 78-38 this season. Four of their five losses came against two teams, Tift County and Houston County.

In the AAAA tournament, Whitewater’s girls (11-5-1), ranked sixth in AAAA, beat Eagles Landing last Thursday 4-0 on the road. Goals were scored by Brittany Vining, Katie Schwartz, Kayla Emerson, and Jade Ah-low. Coach Heather Allen cited great defensive play from Caitlin Beale, Katie Schwartz and Allison Fannin and a number of great saves by Lisa Wilson and back up keeper Ali Young.

“The Lady Cats played very well and it is good to see them clicking and communicating so well,” said Allen. “They have really picked up their game in the playoffs. I hope they continue this in tough upcoming games.”

They will host Evans (12-4-1) tonight at 5 p.m. Evans beat Lee County 3-1 in the opening round to snap a two game losing streak. The Lady Knights are 1-1 against ranked opponents this season and are 1-1 in games that went to penalty kicks. They have scored 67 goals and have allowed 26.

The McIntosh Lady Chiefs (12-5-2) , ranked third in AAAA, blasted Northside, Warner Robins 12-0 last Thursday to advance to the second round of the AAAA playoffs. The win stretched their unbeaten streak to eight games and the Lady Chiefs have outscored their opponents 40-7 in that span. They will host Greenbrier, Evans (14-4-1), ranked eighth in AAAA, at 6 p.m. tonight. The Lady Wolfpack defeated Thomas County Central 12-0 last Thursday to advance to the second round. They are 1-2 against opponents ranked in AAAA this season and have scored 94 goals while allowing only 15.

Both Starr’s Mill and McIntosh’s boys played last night, while the Whitewater boys will play tonight after the girls game. Starr’s Mill (14-3) ranked fourth in AAAAA, hosted Lowndes County (11-8), while the Chiefs (13-4-1), ranked sixth in AAAA, hosted Lakeside-Evans (9-10).
Whitewater (14-4), ranked third in AAAA, hosts Thomas County Central (11-7-1) tonight at 7 p.m. The Yellow Jackets have won four games in a row, including a 3-2 win over Statesboro to advance to the second round of the state playoffs.

There are some very intriguing match-ups on the horizon should some of these local teams advance to the quarterfinals. For instance, the Starr’s Mill’s girls could host the winner of the Parkview/Pope game on Saturday, while the Panther boys could get a rematch at home with their biggest rival in AAAAA, the Brookwood Broncos on Friday, should Brookwood get past Campbell. In AAAA, the Whitewater boys could host the fourth ranked Marist team if Marist survives their game against Murray County, while McIntosh could face a road game with either Chamblee, ranked eighth, or Rome, ranked 10th, with a win. If the Lady Chiefs defeat Greenbrier, Evans, they will host either Salem, ranked fifth, or Forsyth Central, ranked seventh. If Whitewater wins, they will either face Lakeside-DeKalb or Rockdale on the road, neither of which are ranked.

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