First round free of major upsets in lower four classifications

The first round of the girls soccer playoffs in Classes AAAA, AAA, AA and A wrapped up Wednesday night, and for the most part they went according to form.

Higher-seeded teams went 50-14 in the four classifications, and only four No. 1 seeds were knocked out.

The three larger-school classifications will finish their first rounds on Thursday and Friday.

Here’s a recap of the first-round action so far:

*High-profile matchups: Region 5-AAA flexed its muscles in a couple of games matching top-10 teams. Pace Academy (ranked No. 4 by Eurosport) got a goal from Jessica Haidet with about two minutes remaining in overtime to beat No. 5 Lumpkin County 2-1. Sixth-ranked Lovett went on the road and beat third-ranked Dawson County 2-0. Region 5 champion Westminster had little trouble in a 10-0 win over North Hall. The only losing team from Region 5 was Redan, which fell 10-0 to top-ranked Greater Atlanta Christian.

*Region champions: Four No. 1 seeds have been eliminated. Region 6-AAAA champion Northwest Whitfield (ranked No. 9) lost to No. 8 Oconee County 3-2. Region 8-AAA champ and eighth-ranked Jackson County lost to Adairsville 1-0. Region 6-AA winner South Atlanta was eliminated by Putnam County 4-3, and Area 7-A champ Darlington lost to ninth-ranked Pinecrest Academy 2-0. In all four cases, the losing teams came from regions/areas that suffered four-game sweeps in the first round.

*Defending champs: Four of the reigning state champions have played their first-round matches, and all advanced easily. St. Pius reached the second round in Class AAAA with a 10-0 victory over Gilmer. Westminster (the 2016 AAA winner) and Lovett (the AA champ) moved on in the AAA bracket. The Atlanta private-school rivals would not meet again until the state final. Defending Class A champion Fellowship Christian, ranked No. 7, breezed into the second round with a 10-0 win over Trion.

*Class A public teams out: Only four public schools qualified for the playoffs in Class A, and all four were knocked out in the first round. Mount Zion, the No. 4 seed from Area 7, lost to third-ranked Walker 10-0. Lake Oconee Academy, a public charter school in Greene County, lost to Area 1 champion Savannah Country Day 9-0. Towns County was eliminated by fifth-ranked Holy Innocents' 4-0, and Atkinson County lost to Area 3 winner Athens Academy 8-0. No public school has ever won the Class A championship.

*Bracket of death: The most difficult quarter of the bracket in any classification is the top-right quadrant in Class AAAA, where three of the top four teams in the rankings will have to battle it out just for a shot at the semifinals. St. Pius' victory over Gilmer puts the Golden Lions in the second round at home against Region 2 runner-up Mary Persons, an 8-2 winner over Luella. The other second-round game in that part of the bracket has No. 3 Blessed Trinity on the road at No. 4 Columbus. Marist is ranked No. 1.

*Other classifications: Although most of the action on the first two nights of the playoffs came in the four smallest classifications, there were a handful of other games, as well. Peachtree Ridge got two goals and an assist from Erin Harris in a 7-0 victory over Rockdale County in Class AAAAAAA. The Lions outshot Rockdale County 30-1, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post. In AAAAA, Meghan O'Neill scored both goals for Eagle's Landing in a 2-1 win over Ware County, and Union Grove beat South Effingham 6-1.

*Scoreboard: Here are the scores and second-round matchups for the four classifications that completed the first round on Wednesday.

Class AAAA

First-round scores

Jefferson 5, Southeast Whitfield 0

Woodward Academy 6, West Laurens 0

Cairo 4, Thomson 0

LaGrange 1, White County 0

North Oconee 5, Heritage-Catoosa 0

Spalding 8, Salem 0

Northside-Columbus 10, Baldwin 0

Marist 10, Central-Carroll 0

Mary Persons 8, Luella 2

St. Pius 10, Gilmer 0

Blessed Trinity 10, Sandy Creek 0

Columbus 16, Hephzibah 0

Howard 1, Druid Hills 0

Oconee County 3, Northwest Whitfield 2

Chapel Hill 3, Chestatee 2

Richmond Academy 10, Westover 1

Second-round games

(R8 #3) Jefferson at (R4 #1) Woodward Academy

(R1 #3) Cairo at (R5 #1) LaGrange

(R8 #2) North Oconee at (R2 #1) Spalding

(R1 #2) Northside-Columbus at (R7 #1) Marist

(R2 #2) Mary Persons at (R8 #1) St. Pius

(R7 #2) Blessed Trinity at (R1 #1) Columbus

(R8 #4) Oconee County at (R2 #3) Howard

(R5 #2) Chapel Hill at (R3 #1) Richmond Academy

Class AAA

First-round scores

Sonoraville 3, Monroe Area 1

Pike County 10, Brantley County 0

Islands 10, Cook 0

Westminster 10, North Hall 0

Bremen 3, Morgan County 1

Pierce County 9, Rutland 0

Southeast Bulloch 4, Crisp County 1

Greater Atlanta Christian 10, Redan 0

Long County 2, Jackson 1

Adairsville 1, Jackson County 0

Lovett 2, Dawson County 0

Worth County 4, Windsor Forest 3

Peach County 7, Liberty County 2

Calhoun 2, East Jackson 0

Pace Academy 2, Lumpkin County 1

Savannah Arts 10, Dougherty 0

Second-round games

(R6 #2) Sonoraville at (R4 #1) Pike County

(R3 #2) Islands at (R5 #1) Westminster

(R6 #3) Bremen at (R2 #1) Pierce County

(R3 #3) Southeast Bulloch at (R7 #1) Greater Atlanta Christian

(R6 #4) Adairsville at (R2 #2) Long County