Boys soccer: Rain holds off as playoffs get underway

Photo by Warren Bond

Although there were more than a few postponements, the arrival of thunderstorms held off just long enough for state tournament action to get underway on Tuesday evening. Every one of the top five teams in Class AAAAAA booked their spots in the second round. Top-ranked Brookwood beat South Forsyth 3-0 and now appears to have a tough match on its hands against No. 5 Lassiter, which got the best of Peachtree Ridge 4-2. No. 2 Mill Creek blanked Woodstock 3-0, No. 3 Campbell cruised past Alcovy 5-0 and No. 4 Walton defeated Norcross 3-1.

Chamblee endured an eventful, up-and-down conclusion to its 2014 campaign. The Bulldogs edged Grady for the Region 6-AAAA championship last week with a 1-0 victory in which Liam Ferguson notched the game’s only goal. Freshman goalie Brian Roblero preserved the shutout win with a diving stop of a Grady free kick during second-half action. Despite being the region’s top seed, however, Chamblee saw its season come an abrupt end on Tuesday. Lumpkin County, the No. 4 seed from Region 8, took down the host Bulldogs 2-1.

Winners in Class AAAAA were Greenbrier, Gainesville and Allatoona. Second-ranked Greenbrier and No. 6 Gainesville scored respective home victories over Forest Park and Tucker. Allatoona, the third seed from Region 5, went on the road to beat Pope 2-1. Both Allatoona and Pope scored goals in the first 16 minutes of the game before Gavin McCook regained the lead for the visiting Buccaneers by delivering the eventual winner in the 77th minute with a header. They will go up against Lakeside-DeKalb or Apalachee for a place in the quarterfinals.

The Class AA proceedings will get underway on Wednesday, but we already know that one of the top three teams in the state will be knocked out prior to the quarterfinals. No. 2 Calhoun and No. 3 Westminster are on a collision course for the second round. The Yellow Jackets wrapped up their regular season undefeated with a 5-0 win over Morris Innovative last week and they will begin their playoff push against Jordan. The Wildcats, who landed the second seed out of powerhouse Region 6 behind Greater Atlanta Christian, are hosting Riverside Military.

In Class A, the No. 1 seeds from each of the eight areas have byes straight through to the second round. Paideia is not among them, but the Pythons upset then-No. 1 Atlanta International School 4-2 last Wednesday. The Eagles still snagged the top spot in Area 5, while Paideia finished second and will pay a first-round visit to Lakeview Academy. Atlanta International School awaits either Darlington or Holy Innocents’ for its state tournament opener.

 

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