Sprayberry ended the regular season with a 4-2 victory against Class 7A No. 10 Pebblebrook Tuesday and has momentum – and a talented junior midfielder – on its side entering the Class 6A first round matchup against Etowah on April 19.
Eric Cruz has scored a team-leading 18 goals and a team-leading nine assists to help lead Class 6A No. 2 Sprayberry to a 12-2-1, 4-2 record through a season facing ranked teams from in-and-out of Class 6A. Cruz has six game-winning goals and is 1-for-1 on shootout goals.
The team is riding a three-match winning streak since losing to Class 6A No. 2 Johns Creek 3-2 on March 22. Since, Sprayberry has beaten 6A No. 7 Lassiter 4-1, Woodstock 5-2 and Pebblebrook 4-2. The Yellow Jackets tied a match against Kell 1-1 on Feb. 16 and lost to Class 6A No. 9 Blessed Trinity in a shootout (1-1, 4-1) on March 8.
The program has scored 51 goals while allowing 22 and behind Cruz, eight other players have contributed on the offensive side. Junior Jean-Marcel Slyvain has eight goals with seven assists, senior Soren Bednar has made eight goals with four assists, senior Luis Vielma has scored six goals with six assists.
On the defensive side of the ball, Vielma leads with 30 steals while sophomore Edwin Gonzalez-Villalobos has 25 steals, freshman Caua Siqueire has 17 steals and junior Kebron Dawit has 16 steals. Senior Esteban Madrigal Giraldo and Cruz each have 13 steals. Junior goalie Carson Jones has allowed 22 goals with 53 saved while facing 74 shots on goal.
Behind No. 2 Johns Creek (16-0-1, 6-0), Sprayberry finished tied in the Area 7-6A standings with Blessed Trinity (4-2) and Lassiter (4-2) but enjoyed the No. 2 seeding after a head-to-head tiebreaker. The Yellow Jackets enter the playoffs on the hunt for a program-first state championship.
Class 7A
1. Hillgrove
2. Discovery
3. Lambert
4. South Forsyth
5. Milton
6. Grayson
7. Archer
8. Peachtree Ridge
9. Collins Hill
10. Pebblebrook
Class 6A
1. River Ridge
2. Johns Creek
3. Sprayberry
4. North Forsyth
5. Sequoyah
6. North Atlanta
7. Lassiter
8. Veterans
9. Blessed Trinity
10. Marist
Class 5A
1. McIntosh
2. Clarke Central
3. Dalton
4. Cass
5. Centennial
6. Greenbrier
7. Kell
8. Calhoun
9. Chattahoochee
10. Decatur
Class 4A
1. Johnson-Gainesville
2. Westminster
3. Starr’s Mill
4. Cedar Shoals
5. Whitewater
6. Druid Hills
7. Southeast Whitfield
8. East Forsyth
9. Cherokee Bluff
10. Pace Academy
Class 3A
1. Savannah Country Day
2. Oconee County
3. Hebron Christian
4. Wesleyan
5. Columbus
6. Bremen
7. Coahulla Creek
8. Pike County
9. Richmond Academy
10. Thomasville
Class 2A
1. Model
2. Toombs County
3. Union County
4. Walker
5. Jeff Davis
6. East Jackson
7. Callaway
8. Tattnall County
9. Pierce County
10. Landmark Christian
Class A Division I
1. Atlanta International
2. Dalton Academy
3. Whitefield Academy
4. Tallulah Falls
5. Paideia
6. East Laurens
7. Woodville-Tompkins
8. Mount Vernon
9. Metter
10. Rabun County
Class A Division II
1. Georgia Military
2. Lake Oconee Academy
3. Aquinas
4. Christian Heritage
5. Atkinson County
6. Dooly County
7. Fugees
8. Towns County
9. Atlanta Classical
10. Wheeler County
