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 By:
Michael Boylan
The state soccer playoffs start today and while some local teams,
like the region champion Whitewater and Starr’s Mill boys
and McIntosh and Starr’s Mill girls open with home games,
the rest of the locals in the playoffs are on the road.
Tonight’s games
Starr’s Mill (13-3) vs. Groves (9-7), 6 p.m.
The Panthers, ranked fifth in AAAAA, were once again region champions
and that means starting the playoffs with a home game. All three
of the team’s losses were to ranked opponents Walton and Harrison,
ranked third and sixth respectively in AAAAA, and Woodward Academy,
ranked sixth in AAAA. Starr’s Mill has a strong midfield that
sets up a good offense and backs up a solid defense. The Panthers
closed the season with six straight wins and have out scored their
opponents 62-16 this year.
Groves has gone 2-4 in their last six games and does not have a
great goals for/against differential, scoring 35 this season and
allowing 27. They shouldn’t be overlooked though as eight
of their game this year were decided by two goals or less.
Whitewater (13-4) vs. Warner Robins (12-3-1), 7 p.m.
The Wildcats, ranked second in AAAA, captured the school’s
first ever region championship by beating Woodward Academy in penalty
kicks. Goals were scored by Daniel Higginbotham, Brian Forero, Matt
McCrite and Ryan Pugh while keeper Jordan Cooper made two key saves.
Coach Shane Pulliam said that the win was important for the team
as last year Woodward physically dominated them. He added that while
the team didn’t have the best region tournament, they still
won it and he feels good about his team’s prospects in the
playoffs.
Warner Robins, which had a 10 game unbeaten streak dating back
to Feb. 25, enters the playoffs having lost two games in a row.
In the region semi-finals, the team lost to Upson Lee in penalty
kicks and then fell to Hardaway 4-2 in the match for third place.
They have outscored their opponents 45-15 this season and are 6-2
in games that have been decided by one goal.
Fayette County (13-4-1) @ Camden County (12-4-1), 4:30 p.m.
The Tigers opened the season with seven straight wins but had kind
of a rocky finish to their season, losing to Newnan in overtime
and East Coweta in penalty kicks and having their final game of
the season, a game against Starr’s Mill, start and then get
delayed a day, by rain. The Tigers have posted 10 shutouts this
year and have out scored their opponents 75-18. They have a solid
defense and a good midfield with a potentially explosive offense.
Camden County’s four losses all came before March 18. Since
then they have gone 8-0-1 and have posted six shutouts in that time.
Camden County has scored 62 goals this season and has allowed 24.
Only one of their losses this season was to an opponent ranked in
Class AAAAA.
McIntosh (12-4-1) @ Upson Lee (12-6), 7 p.m.
Penalty kicks have not been friendly to the McIntosh Chiefs this
year. The Chiefs, ranked seventh in AAAA, fell to Whitewater 6-5
in penalty kicks on March 24 and lost to Woodward in the region
semi-finals last week 3-0 in penalty kicks. The other two losses
came early in the season to opponents from Class AAAAA. McIntosh
might just be the most dangerous three seed in the AAAA tournament.
They have posted 11 shutouts this year and have out scored their
opponents 66-13. They have a good offense and a strong midfield
and defense. They have already faced Upson Lee this season and beaten
them 3-0.
Upson Lee is 1-1 in games that have gone to penalty kicks this
year but since their six game winning streak started Feb. 21, they
have gone 5-5, losing the region championship to Eagles Landing
last week in overtime. The team has eight shutouts under their belt
this year and has out scored its opponents 73-19 this year.
Tomorrow’s games
Starr’s Mill (12-2-1) vs. Camden County (9-6), 4 p.m.
The Lady Panthers, ranked third in AAAAA, closed out the season
with a seven game unbeaten streak that included six shutouts. The
team is healthy and enters the playoffs at full strength, which
is something they haven’t been all year. Against ranked opponents
this year, Starr’s Mill is 4-2-1 with their two losses being
by one goal. They have outscored their opponents this year 61-12.
The team has met two of their goals thus far this season; beat McIntosh
and win the region. There is one goal left for the team and that
is to win the state title.
Camden County went 5-4 in their last nine games and had a four
game losing streak right in the middle of their season. The team
enters the playoffs riding a three game winning streak and hasn’t
been scored upon in that time. They have scored 42 goals this year
and have allowed 16.
McIntosh (11-5-2) vs. Northside Warner Robins (9-7), 6 p.m.
This hasn’t been the typical season for the McIntosh Lady
Chiefs, ranked third in AAAA, but so far the results have been the
same. Though they opened the season with two losses and also had
a three game losing streak in the middle, including painful losses
to county rivals Starr’s Mill and Whitewater, they enter the
state playoffs riding a seven game unbeaten streak featuring two
one goal wins over Woodward Academy. They were also able to add
yet another region title to their history and open the playoffs
with a home game.
Northside Warner Robins is 3-5 in their final eight games and has
lost two in a row coming into the state playoffs. That being said,
they did produce a five game winning streak this year and they also
got eight shutout wins.
Though they scored 44 goals and allowed 21, Northside could be a
tough foe as five of their losses were by two goals or less. They
will shoot to keep it close and keep the pressure on the Lady Chiefs.
Whitewater (10-5-1) @ Eagle’s Landing (11-5-1), 5:30 p.m.
Unfortunately, the meeting between these two teams scheduled for
the regular season was cancelled due to conditions. Otherwise, we
would have a good idea of how this game would play out. Whitewater,
ranked seventh in AAAA, had hopes of winning the region this year
but those were dashed with a 6-0 loss to Woodward last Wednesday.
The Lady Wildcats bounced back and defeated Chapel Hill 4-1 and
enter the playoffs with some momentum and as a sneakily good three
seed. They have some offensive firepower and though they sometimes
lapse on defense, their midfield is strong and their defense is
generally good.
Eagle’s Landing opened the season with two losses and then
went on a six game winning streak. Though they closed the season
with two wins and two losses, they know they can put up some goals,
scoring 78, and can keep teams off the board, posting eight shutouts
and allowing 18 goals.
Fayette County (10-6-2) @ Windsor Forest (13-4), 5 p.m.
The Lady Tigers had a six game unbeaten streak in the middle of
the regular season and came very close to at least forcing an overtime
against East Coweta, a team that had beaten them 7-0 earlier in
the year. In their final nine games, where they went 5-2-2, they
outscored their opponents 14-7. All five of their wins were shutouts.
Windsor Forest went 1-3 in their final four games but had a nine
game winning streak entering that final four game stretch. They
have outscored their opponents 72-16 this season and have posted
eight shutouts this year.
http://www.thecitizen.com/node/6006
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