High school teams across the state are playing for quarterfinal berths when the second round of the boys soccer tournament begins Wednesday.
In the seven classifications, there are several matchups featuring ranked teams. Here are some of the top games in Round 2:
-- Walton vs. Pebblebrook: In Class AAAAAAA, top-ranked Walton will put its nine-game winning streak on the line against No. 7 Pebblebrook at home. Walton is 17-1-1 with a loss to Collins Hill on March 16. Since then, the Raiders defeated their next nine opponents with four shutouts. Walton's recent escape was a 1-0 victory against Kennesaw Mountain, but the Raiders have weathered similar games during the closing stretch of the season. Pebblebrook is 16-3, but the losses were each closely contested – North Springs (3-1), Newnan (4-3) and East Coweta (2-1). Since the loss to East Coweta on March 22, Pebblebrook has won 10 consecutive games, including five shutouts, including the last three games. Pebblebrook earned its second-round berth with a 2-0 victory against Tift County.
-- South Forsyth vs. Norcross: On the top left of the bracket, two more titans of Class AAAAAAA will meet when No. 6 South Forsyth (15-3-1) travels to No. 2 Norcross (14-1-1) Wednesday. Norcross' only loss came against Lakeside on March 27, but it has won five consecutive games with three shutouts – Etowah (2-0), Duluth (2-0) and Rockdale County (3-0) in the first round of the playoffs. South Forsyth has 15 victories, with 11 of them being shutouts. Its most recent "blemish" was a 1-1 tie with Alpharetta on April 20. South Forsyth advanced with a 1-0 victory against North Gwinnett in the first round.
-- Cambridge vs. Allatoona: In Class AAAAAA, top-ranked Cambridge (16-1-0) will host No. 7 Allatoona (13-4-1) on Wednesday. Cambridge is riding momentum into its second-round match after defeating Lanier 3-0 in the opening round. After losing to Blessed Trinity 3-2 in the final regular-season game, Allatoona got back on track in the first round with a 6-2 victory against Douglas County. Allatoona has four losses this season, but has won three of the four games following losses.
-- Dalton vs. Alpharetta: In Class AAAAAA, second-ranked Dalton (16-2-1) will host No. 5 Alpharetta (15-2-1) on Wednesday with hopes of keeping its four-game winning streak intact. The Catamounts have dropped just two games on the season – Fort Payne (1-0) and Northwest Whitfield (3-2) – but have 10 shutout victories, including two in the last two games.
Alpharetta got back on track in the first round after tying with South Forsyth (1-1) in the final game of the regular season. It has three losses, but has responded to each of them with a shutout in the following game.
For the full soccer schedule (first and second rounds) go here.
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