The Starr’s Mill High School Lady Panthers varsity soccer team wanted to win a state championship very badly. It was at the top of their list of three goals that the team set out to achieve this year, in front of beating their county rival, the McIntosh Lady Chiefs, and winning another region title. After satisfying their first two goals, Starr’s Mill set out to bring home a state crown, their third overall and their first since 2000. They did this in magnificent fashion. They scored 19 goals and allowed only one in the first two rounds of the playoffs, defeating Camden County 9-0 and Colquitt County 10-1.

The girls then faced defending state champion Parkview, ranked fourth in the state, and hung on to win 5-4. Parkview had knocked Starr’s Mill out of the title hunt the year before, so revenge was only fitting. In the semi-finals, the Lady Panthers hosted and defeated Collins Hill, ranked seventh in the state, 3-0, putting themselves 80 minutes away from a championship.

Starr’s Mill traveled to Harrison on Saturday night and took on the second ranked team in the state, a team that had handed the Lady Panthers one of their only two losses this season. Starr’s Mill avenged that loss and won the game 3-1. Gina Goforth netted two goals for the Lady Panthers, the first and third of the game, while Kelley O’Hara scored the second goal, the one that gave Starr’s Mill the lead for good.

The title win comes at a good time for Starr’s Mill. They will lose a large part of the team to graduation and Coach Greg Shifflett is retiring from over 30 years in teaching to relocate with his family to Montana. Next year, there will be a new squad on the field, under a new coach, and they will play in a new region and classification, one that pits them against familiar foes; McIntosh, Whitewater and Fayette County among them. Last weekend’s win puts this team among the greats in the school’s short history though, one that will not be forgotten by the players, coaches or fans.

AAAA state championship

Things did not go so well for the McIntosh Lady Chiefs, who found themselves 80 minutes away from a three-peat on Saturday, but lost to Woodward Academy 3-0. The Lady Chiefs had defeated the Lady War Eagles twice before during the regular season but were not so fortunate on Saturday. A 1-0 deficit at the half, turned into a 2-0 deficit with 19 minutes left to play in the game. Woodward added one more with just over a minute to play, driving a nail in any hopes of a miraculous comeback.

Reaching the final was a coup for McIntosh though, which started the season with two losses and also included a three game losing streak.
There were many who didn’t believe the Lady Chiefs would contend for a title this year, but the players and coaches never doubted their ability. Before the loss in the final, McIntosh had an 11 game unbeaten streak and proved to all doubters that this team would remain a contender for years to come.

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