Class AAAAAA Grayson and Class A Hebron Christian had their hopes of repeating as state champions come to an end Wednesday when they were eliminated in the second round of the girls soccer state tournament.
Grayson (13-4) was knocked out by 2014 champion Harrison, which avenged a loss to the Rams in last year’s quarterfinals that ended the Hoyas’ 39-game winning streak. Harrison got goals from Treva Aycock, Sarah Alexander, Pace Stephenson and Trinity Pominville in the 4-1 victory, according to the Marietta Daily Journal. The Hoyas will face 2010 champion North Gwinnett in the quarterfinals.
Hebron Christian (10-9), which beat Fellowship Christian 1-0 in the 2015 championship game for its first state title, had its season end with a 1-0 loss to Walker, the Area 7 champion. Walker will face top-ranked Fellowship Christian in the quarterfinals.
Here are some of the other highlights from second-round action. The scores from all classifications and the matchups for the quarterfinals are listed below. Quarterfinal games in all classifications are tentatively scheduled for Saturday.
*Other champions roll: The other four defending state champions – Starr's Mill (AAAAA), St. Pius (AAAA), Westminster (AAA) and Greater Atlanta Christian (AA) – had little trouble moving on to the quarterfinals, winning their second-round games by a combined score of 26-0. St. Pius had the tightest contest, beating seventh-ranked Veterans 2-0. Starr's Mill beat eighth-ranked Heritage-Conyers 4-0, while Westminster (against Morgan County) and GAC (against Long County) each won by 10-0 scores.
*Cobb County thrives: Harrison's victory was a big part of an impressive night for Cobb County teams in Class AAAAAA. The Hoyas will be joined in the quarterfinals by Cobb schools Lassiter (9-0 over Lee County), Hillgrove (2-1 over Pope) and Walton (4-0 over Tift County), giving the county four of the final eight teams in the highest classification. Harrison won state titles in 2011 and 2014, but no other Cobb school has won the championship in the highest class since Pope won back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002.
*Big breakthrough: For the first time since Class AA began holding its own separate tournament in 2011, the semifinals will include a team that doesn't play in Region 6. St. Vincent's Academy, an all-girls Catholic school in Savannah, made sure of that on Tuesday when it beat Region 6's Wesleyan 3-0. St. Vincent's will take on Bremen in the next round for a spot in the semifinals. Region 6 could still fill three semifinal spots, as Greater Atlanta Christian, Pace Academy and Lovett won their second-round games by 10 goals each.
*Cream rising to the top: Eight No. 4 seeds made it out of the first round, but only Lovett made it into the quarterfinals. Lovett's seed is misleading, however, because it plays in powerhouse 6-AA and entered the tournament ranked No. 3 in the state. Only nine teams seeded No. 3 remain, including three each in AAAAA (Northgate, Forsyth Central and Richmond Hill) and AAAA (Grady, North Hall and Woodward Academy).
Class AAAAAA
(Second round)
(R5 #1) Lassiter 9, (R1 #2) Lee County 0
(R2 #1) Lakeside-DeKalb 2, (R7 #3) Mill Creek 1
(R4 #2) Hillgrove 2, (R5 #4) Pope 1
(R7 #2) Collins Hill 3, (R3 #1) East Coweta 1
(R5 #2) Walton 4, (R1 #1) Tift County 0
(R6 #1) West Forsyth 2, (R3 #3) Campbell 0
(R4 #1) Harrison 4, (R8 #2) Grayson 1
(R7 #1) North Gwinnett 8, (R3 #2) Newnan 1
(Third round)
(R5 #1) Lassiter vs. (R2 #1) Lakeside-DeKalb
(R4 #2) Hillgrove vs. (R7 #2) Collins Hill
(R5 #2) Walton vs. (R6 #1) West Forsyth
(R4 #1) Harrison vs. (R7 #1) North Gwinnett
Class AAAAA
(Second round)
(R4 #3) Northgate 3, (R5 #1) Allatoona 0
(R7 #3) Forsyth Central 3, (R3 #4) Effingham County 1
(R4 #2) McIntosh 3, (R8 #1) Gainesville 2
(R7 #2) Cambridge 3, (R2 #4) Lakeside-Evans 0
(R1 #1) Columbus 3, (R5 #2) Alexander 1
(R3 #3) Richmond Hill 1, (R6 #1) Dunwoody 0
(R4 #1) Starr’s Mill 4, (R8 #2) Heritage-Conyers 0
(R7 #1) North Atlanta 6, (R3 #2) Camden County 0
(Third round)
(R4 #3) Northgate vs. (R7 #3) Forsyth Central
(R4 #2) McIntosh vs. (R7 #2) Cambridge
(R1 #1) Columbus vs. (R3 #3) Richmond Hill
(R4 #1) Starr’s Mill vs. (R7 #1) North Atlanta
Class AAAA
(Second round)
(R5 #1) Whitewater 4, (R4 #3) Locust Grove 0
(R6 #2) St. Pius 2, (R2 #1) Veterans 0
(R8 #1) Buford 6, (R4 #2) Spalding 1
(R6 #3) Grady 4, (R3 #1) Windsor Forest 0
(R8 #3) North Hall 1, (R4 #4) Eagle’s Landing 0
(R6 #1) Marist 8, (R2 #2) Upson-Lee 0
(R5 #3) Woodward Academy 3, (R4 #1) Pike County 0
(R3 #2) Wayne County 2, (R6 #4) Chamblee 1
(Third round)
(R5 #1) Whitewater vs. (R6 #2) St. Pius
(R8 #1) Buford vs. (R6 #3) Grady
(R8 #3) North Hall vs. (R6 #1) Marist
(R5 #3) Woodward Academy vs. (R3 #2) Wayne County
Class AAA
(Second round)
(R4 #3) Blessed Trinity 10, (R8 #4) Jackson County 0
(R2 #1) Peach County 3, (R7 #3) Fannin County 0
(R4 #2) Decatur 1, (R8 #1) Oconee County 0
(R7 #2) Lumpkin County 10, (R2 #4) Rutland 0
(R1 #1) Savannah Arts Academy 2, (R8 #3) Jefferson 1
(R6 #1) Adairsville 7, (R2 #2) Jackson 1
(R4 #1) Westminster 10, (R8 #2) Morgan County 0
(R7 #1) Dawson County 10, (R2 #3) Central-Macon 0
(Third round)
(R4 #3) Blessed Trinity vs. (R2 #1) Peach County
(R4 #2) Decatur vs. (R7 #2) Lumpkin County
(R1 #1) Savannah Arts Academy vs. (R6 #1) Adairsville
(R4 #1) Westminster vs. (R7 #1) Dawson County
Class AA
(Second round)
(R5 #1) Bremen 7, (R1 #2) Fitzgerald 0
(R2 #1) St. Vincent's 3, (R6 #2) Wesleyan 0
(R8 #1) Union County 7, (R1 #3) Berrien 0
(R6 #3) Pace Academy 10, (R3 #1) East Laurens 0
(R1 #1) Thomasville 3, (R8 #3) Rabun County 0
(R6 #1) Greater Atlanta Christian 10, (R2 #2) Long County 0
(R4 #1) Lamar County 4, (R8 #2) Social Circle 3
(R6 #4) Lovett 11, (R2 #3) Vidalia 1
(Third round)
(R5 #1) Bremen vs. (R2 #1) St. Vincent's
(R8 #1) Union County vs. (R6 #3) Pace Academy
(R1 #1) Thomasville vs. (R6 #1) Greater Atlanta Christian
(R4 #1) Lamar County winner vs. (R6 #4) Lovett
Class A
(Second round)
(A2 #1) Stratford Academy 3, (A1 #2) Calvary Day 2
(A6 #3) Mount Pisgah Christian 2, (A8 #1) Lakeview Academy 1
(A6 #1) Fellowship Christian 6, (A5 #2) Paideia 0
(A4 #1) Eagle's Landing Christian 4, (A3 #2) Aquinas 1
(A5 #1) Atlanta International 1, (A6 #2) Pinecrest Academy 0
(A3 #1) Athens Academy 1, (A1 #3) Savannah Country Day 0
(A2 #2) First Presbyterian 4, (A1 #1) Savannah Christian 3
(A7 #1) Walker 1, (A8 #2) Hebron Christian 0
(Third round)
(A2 #1) Stratford Academy vs. (A6 #3) Mount Pisgah Christian
(A6 #1) Fellowship Christian winner vs. (A4 #1) Eagle's Landing Christian
(A5 #1) Atlanta International vs. (A3 #1) Athens Academy
(A2 #2) First Presbyterian vs. (A7 #1) Walker
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