First-round action in the girls soccer state tournaments continues Thursday when Classes AAAAAA, AAAA and AA begin their playoffs.
St. Vincent’s Academy of Class AA will be seeking its third consecutive championship, while top-ranked teams Johns Creek (AAAAAA) and Columbus (AAAA) try to bring home their first trophies.
Here’s a look the classifications that begin play Thursday. All rankings are provided by Score Atlanta, unless noted.
Class AAAAAA
*No. 1 team: Johns Creek
*2018 champion: Alpharetta
*Overview: Johns Creek lost to Alpharetta 1-0 in the semifinals last season and is looking to break through for its first title. The Gladiators are ranked No. 1 and enter the tournament at 15-2-1, their losses coming against AAAAAAA schools Hillgrove (ranked No. 7 by Score Atlanta but No. 2 by Eurosport) and Brookwood. Second-ranked Dacula, also seeking its first state championship, is in the toughest quarter of the bracket. If the Falcons defeat Douglas County in the first round, they would meet the winner of the match between No. 7 Dunwoody and No. 8 Creekview in Round 2 and could meet No. 4 Glynn Academy in the quarterfinals.
*Worth noting: Only one team in the top 10 of Score Atlanta’s most recent rankings has won a state championship. Third-ranked Harrison won titles in 2011, 2014 and 2017. The Hoyas, the top seed from Region 6, will face Northview in the first round.
*First-round matchups:
(R4 #3) Mount Zion-Jonesboro at (R1 #2) Lee County
(R3 #4) Greenbrier at (R2 #1) Glynn Academy
(R6 #3) Creekview at (R7 #2) Dunwoody
(R5 #4) Douglas County at (R8 #1) Dacula
(R1 #3) Valdosta at (R4 #2) Forest Park
(R2 #4) Bradwell Institute at (R3 #1) Heritage-Conyers
(R7 #3) Pope at (R6 #2) Allatoona
(R8 #4) Habersham Central at (R5 #1) Alexander
(R2 #3) Effingham County at (R3 #2) Lakeside-Evans
(R1 #4) Coffee at (R4 #1) Tucker
(R5 #3) South Paulding at (R8 #2) Lanier
(R6 #4) Sprayberry at (R7 #1) Johns Creek
(R3 #3) Grovetown at (R2 #2) Richmond Hill
(R4 #4) Drew at (R1 #1) Houston County
(R8 #3) Apalachee at (R5 #2) Northgate
(R7 #4) Northview at (R6 #1) Harrison
Class AAAA
*No. 1 team: Columbus
*2018 champion: Marist
*Overview: Marist and St. Pius met in the finals the past four seasons (St. Pius won the first three before Marist won last season). That won’t happen this year, however, because the private-school powers will meet in the second round if they both survive their playoff openers. St. Pius will host Chapel Hill and Marist will take on LaFayette this week. No. 3 St. Pius and No. 4 Marist remain the teams to beat, although Columbus and Flowery Branch enter the tournament in the top two spots in the rankings. Both are seeking their first championship. Flowery Branch beat Marist 4-1 on March 26 in a game that ultimately decided the Region 7 title.
*Worth noting: St. Pius, Marist and No. 5 Blessed Trinity have combined to win 26 state titles (St. Pius 11, Marist 10, Blessed Trinity five). At least one of those schools has claimed a title in 18 of the 27 seasons in which the GHSA has held girls soccer tournaments.
*First-round matchups:
(R4 #3) Druid Hills at (R1 #2) Northside-Columbus
(R3 #4) Cross Creek at (R2 #1) Spalding
(R6 #3) LaFayette at (R7 #2) Marist
(R5 #4) Chapel Hill at (R8 #1) St. Pius
(R1 #3) Shaw at (R4 #2) Eastside
(R2 #4) Perry at (R3 #1) Richmond Academy
(R7 #3) Blessed Trinity at (R6 #2) Northwest Whitfield
(R8 #4) Stephens County at (R5 #1) LaGrange
(R2 #3) Howard at (R3 #2) Thomson
(R1 #4) Cairo at (R4 #1) Woodward Academy
(R5 #3) Sandy Creek at (R8 #2) North Oconee
(R6 #4) Gilmer at (R7 #1) Flowery Branch
(R3 #3) Baldwin at (R2 #2) Mary Persons
(R4 #4) Luella at (R1 #1) Columbus
(R8 #3) Oconee County at (R5 #2) Cartersville
(R7 #4) White County at (R6 #1) Heritage-Conyers
Class AA
*No. 1 team: St. Vincent’s Academy
*2018 champion: St. Vincent’s Academy
*Overview: Two-time defending champion St. Vincent’s went 2-3 over the final three weeks of the season but enters the tournament as the favorite and top-ranked team. The Saints fell into an early hole in Region 2 with a 2-1 loss to Vidalia but avenged that loss with a 6-3 victory on April 12 that gave them the No. 1 seed. That was the only loss of the regular season for Vidalia, which had given up just four goals to that point. Vidalia settled for the No. 2 seed from the region and is ranked No. 2 in Class AA. Oglethorpe County, which lost to St. Vincent’s 9-0 in the final last season, is the No. 2 seed from Region 8 and opens the playoffs against Callaway.
*Worth noting: Top-five schools Vidalia, Lamar County, Bremen and Model lead the charge for the public schools, which are seeking their first state title in AA. Private schools won every combined Class AA/A title from 1997 to 2010 and every AA title since 2011.
*First-round matchups:
(R4 #3) Johnson-Augusta at (R1 #2) Thomasville
(R3 #4) Washington County at (R2 #1) St. Vincent’s Academy
(R6 #3) Therrell at (R7 #2) Gordon Central
(R5 #4) Temple at (R8 #1) Union County
(R1 #3) Berrien at (R4 #2) Screven County
(R2 #4) Jeff Davis at (R3 #1) East Laurens
(R7 #3) Coosa at (R6 #2) Douglass
(R8 #4) Social Circle at (R5 #1) Bremen
(R2 #3) Toombs County at (R3 #2) Bleckley County
(R1 #4) Brooks County at (R4 #1) Harlem
(R5 #3) Callaway at (R8 #2) Oglethorpe County
(R6 #4) Washington at (R7 #1) Model
(R3 #3) Dodge County at (R2 #2) Vidalia
(R4 #4) Jefferson County at (R1 #1) Fitzgerald
(R8 #3) Rabun County at (R5 #2) Lamar County
(R7 #4) Pepperell at (R6 #1) KIPP Atlanta Collegiate
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