Decatur soccer had a run in the early 2000s, reaching the title game in 2002 and winning the Class AA state championship in 2003. The Bulldogs haven’t been able to reach that level of success since, but are trying to change that this year.
“There’s been a gap after that run,” said Decatur coach David Harbin, who has the Bulldogs back in the second round of the state tournament for the first time in years. “There has always been good soccer players (in Decatur). We’ve been in a tough region when we were in AA, competing against Greater Atlanta Christian, Blessed Trinity, Lovett, Buford. It was challenging to end up in the top four against those programs. But these guys have been persistent and believed that they get it done this year. And they’ve done that.”
Decatur, the No. 3 seed out of Region 4-AAA, hosts Sonoraville, the No. 4 seed out of Region 6-AAA, at 5:30 p.m. tonight in the second round of the Class AAA soccer tournament. The Bulldogs went 4-13 last season, Harbin’s first season at Decatur. They’re 8-8-1 this year.
“Looking at our record, things don’t look quite as good as they could,” Harbin said. “But I think these guys know that they’ve been very close to breaking through and believing their time can come.”
Senior strikers Luke Jackson and Zak Umberg have bolstered the offensive attack. Goalie Jackson Bailey has teamed with defenders Kevin Beck, Nathan Tumperi and Owen Tumperi to lead the back line. Lucas Ryter and Sebastian Wagner have controlled the midfield for the Bulldogs.
Decatur scored 11 goals in its first-round win over Washington County, but the majority of the Bulldogs’ matches have been low-scoring affairs. The most goals they’ve surrendered in a game this season is three.
“I’ve been very pleased with how our defense has played,” Harbin said. “We had a challenging season, played a tough schedule. We’ve played some teams that have pushed us to get better and haven’t quite been able to get over the hump in a lot of those games. But we’ve been very competitive, and these guys have continued to trust in themselves and believe in themselves. I think it’s beginning to pay off at the right time.”
Overcoming obstacle: Dalton heads into its second-round matchup against Columbia tonight undefeated and ranked No. 1 in Class AAAAA. The defending state-champion Catamounts have reached this point, despite losing their best player for the year in the first game of the season. Eder Mora, a college prospect, suffered a fractured foot in the season opener and was lost for the season.
Coach Matt Cheaves says it’s taken a total team effort to make up for the loss of Mora.
“Losing Eder forced us to change some people around,” Cheaves said. “He can’t be replaced, but this team is just that – a team. We have had an amazing team effort.”
Senior Kobe Perez has emerged as one of the most talented players in the state. Defenseman Kiko Rodriguez and forward Javier Rodriguez also have made key contributions, Cheaves said.
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