Area shines in state playoffs
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Roswell High School's Drew Klipp (left) collides with Evans High School's Justin Richards on Tuesday.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Nearly every Columbia County high school soccer team in the first round of state playoffs advanced to the second round following matches last week.
Evans, Greenbrier, Lakeside and Harlem boys teams saw playoff action on Tuesday, with all but Harlem making it to the next level.
On their home turf, Richmond Hill knocked off the Bulldogs with a 9-1 victory.
"The boys lost on Tuesday night to a very good and skilled Richmond Hill team," Harlem Coach George Berry said.
The only Dogs score came in the first period from a Tyrell Dyson kick.
"That made the score 2-1 and I thought we had a chance to stay with them," Berry said. "Some bad choices on defense and missed assignments kept us from being able to stay with Richmond Hill."
Evans 1, Roswell 0
The Evans Knights pulled off the upset of the week with their 1-0 win over the Roswell Hornets at Blanchard Stadium.
Despite heading into the match as Region 7-AAAAA champs, most considered the Knights underdogs against Roswell, the ninth-ranked team in the state.
"This is a great confidence-building win for us," Evans coach Brian Killips said. "We just beat a team that can beat any team in the state, which means we can beat any team in the state."
Plagued by poor shooting, the Hornets made 23 attempts on the goal and produced nothing. Knights goalkeeper Joey Ralph saved 13 of the Hornets goal attempts and the rest flew wide or too high.
Knights striker Allen Ligon scored the only goal of the match with an assist from Drew Hess.
Evans plays at home again Monday against Kennesaw Mountain.
Lakeside's Todd Peters (left) and Jeremiah Detchemendy celebrate Jeremiah's goal against Columbia High School.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Lakeside 2, Columbus 0
Lakeside's boys soccer team won their first-round playoff game 2-0 against Columbus High School at Lakeside Tuesday.
In the first half of the game, two Lakeside players were injured and no goals were scored.
With 29 minutes left in the second half, Ben Houston assisted as Stephen Newman kicked the first goal for the Panthers. Junior Jeremiah Detchemendy scored the second and last goal of the game, securing a Panthers' win.
"We played pretty good. We lost a couple of guys in the beginning, but this isn't over yet," Newman said. "I'm very happy that we won, even though we lost two of our best players in the first half, and we had two out sick. I was proud we didn't lose our composure."
The Panthers face off against Douglas County at home on Monday in the second round.
Greenbrier 3, Upson-Lee 1
The Greenbrier Wolfpack defeated Upson-Lee 3-1 in a Tuesday away game.
In stunning defensive performance, Pack goalie Jonathan Shackleford made 17 saves to keep the Knights to only one goal.
Luke Gibb, Gavin Globensky and Matt Stokes all netted points for the Wolfpack with Gibb and Globensky coming up with an assist each.
Greenbrier headed into the match as the third seed.
To advance to the quarterfinals, Greenbrier must defeat Woodward on Monday at Woodward.
Greenbrier (girls) 3, Upson Lee 0
The Lady Wolfpack also beat Upson Lee with a 3-0 shutout Wednesday at home to secure a shot at the quarterfinals.
Greenbrier dictated the pace for nearly the entire game with aggressive play and quick passing.
"I told them going into this game they were going to have to be aggressive to win," Greenbrier coach Alex Heider said. "We won nearly every ball and we showed a lot of control."
Lady Wolfpack striker Jennifer Dye struck net first with a goal late in the first period following a corner kick.
The Pack's Bridget Lyons outraced an Upson Lee defender up the side of the field before passing it off and setting up a goal for Nicki Gray.
Dye found net again late in the second period off an assist from forward Stephanie Fransoso.
The Lady Pack play at home Tuesday against Alexander High School in second-round playoff action.
Lakeside (girls) 10, Shaw 0
Lakeside's Lady Panthers decisively won the first round of the AAAA state soccer tournament with a 10-0 victory against Columbus' Shaw High School.
The Lady Panthers prepared for Wednesday's game all week by implementing different formations of various styles of play, such as both offensive and defensive oriented alignments. They played two tight games last week against Salem (tie 2-2) and Greenbrier (4-2) that prepared them for the tournament.
Coach Donny Rogers ended the regular season with a scavenger hunt "to help with team chemistry. This was a huge success.
"The girls are very competitive and we split the team into four groups to find items from the hunt and then to take photos with those items. A good time was had by all, and it brought the team closer together."
The Panthers scored eight goals against the Raiders in the first half with two goals scored by senior Jamie Lake and one each by Emily Brandenburg, Susanne Rogers, Caitilin Clark, Jenny Whitt, Ashley Wray and Brianna Lowrie. Senior Elizabeth Awad scored the last two goals of the game in the second half.
The Panthers will play their second round playoff game Tuesday against Northgate at home.
Harlem (girls) 8, Screven County 0
Although the boys team faltered, Harlem's Lady Bulldogs advanced in state playoffs with an impressive 8-0 win over Screven County.
Both Jamie Nevin and Mallory Morgan put up three goals each for the Lady Dogs. They were closely followed by Elissa Botts with two.
Goalkeeper Jackie Schmidt recorded four saves to shut out Screven County.
The Lady Dogs next take on Fitzgerald High School on Tuesday for a shot at the quarterfinals at home.
"They are a good team," Berry said. "We will have to play very hard and error free soccer to stay with them."