St. Pius will be seeking its sixth consecutive state championship and Westminster will be aiming for its fourth straight when the girls soccer state tournaments for Classes AAAA, AAA, AA and A begin, primarily, on Thursday (a few games were played Wednesday night).
St. Pius, ranked No. 3 in Class AAAA, opened its tournament play with a 2-1 victory Wednesday against Chestatee to advance to a second-round matchup against Cartersville or Heritage-Ringgold. The Golden Lions won championships in eight of the past nine seasons and have 11 state titles overall.
Westminster also has won 11 championships, including the past three in Class AAA. The top-ranked Wildcats begin tournament play against Calhoun in Round 1.
Here’s a look at the four classifications:
Class AAAA
*No. 1 team: Blessed Trinity
*2017 champion: St. Pius
*Overview: Private schools Blessed Trinity, Marist and St. Pius are the heavy favorites. Blessed Trinity is the top-ranked team, but No. 3 St. Pius has beaten No. 2 Marist in the final each of the past three seasons after losing to the War Eagles during the regular season. Marist beat St. Pius 2-1 last week but lost to Blessed Trinity 2-1 on March 22 in a game that gave Blessed Trinity the Region 7-AAAA title. The three schools have combined to win 25 state championships (St. Pius 11, Marist nine, Blessed Trinity five). The highest-ranked public school is No. 4 Northside-Columbus, which has won nine consecutive matches since starting the season 3-2.
*Worth noting: St. Pius can become the first girls soccer team to win six consecutive state championships. The Golden Lions' current streak of five is tied with Westminster (2002-2006) for longest in state history.
*First-round matchups:
(R6 #3) Southeast Whitfield at (R5 #2) Sandy Creek
(R8 #4) Oconee County at (R7 #1) Blessed Trinity
(R2 #3) Howard at (R1 #2) Columbus
(R4 #4) Salem at (R3 #1) Richmond Academy
(R5 #3) Cartersville at (R6 #2) Heritage-Ringgold
(R8 #1) St. Pius 2, (R7 #4) Chestatee 1
(R1 #3) Cairo at (R2 #2) Mary Persons
(R3 #4) Cross Creek at (R4 #1) Woodward Academy
(R8 #3) Jefferson at (R7 #2) Marist
(R6 #4) Gilmer at (R5 #1) LaGrange
(R4 #3) Druid Hills at (R3 #2) Thomson
(R2 #4) Perry at (R1 #1) Northside-Columbus
(R7 #3) White County at (R8 #2) North Oconee
(R5 #4) Chapel Hill at (R6 #1) Northwest Whitfield
(R3 #3) Baldwin at (R4 #2) Eastside
(R1 #4) Shaw at (R2 #1) Spalding
Class AAA
*No. 1 team: Westminster
*2017 champion: Westminster
*Overview: The championship figures to come down to the three private schools at the top of the rankings – No. 1 Westminster, No. 2 Lovett and No. 3 Greater Atlanta Christian. Those schools have combined to win eight state championships in the past six seasons, including three consecutive Class AAA titles by Westminster. They have won 17 titles overall, led by Westminster's 11. Westminster has beaten both teams this season – 3-0 over Greater Atlanta Christian on Feb. 27 and 2-1 over Lovett on April 17 in a match that decided the Region 5-AAA championship. No. 4 Bremen and No. 5 Lumpkin County are the highest-ranked public schools.
*Worth noting: Greater Atlanta Christian beat East Jackson 8-0 Wednesday to set up what could be a huge second-round matchup against Lovett. The Spartans will be at home next week and will play Lovett if the Lions advance past Adairsville.
*First-round matchups:
(R6 #3) Adairsville at (R5 #2) Lovett
(R7 #1) Greater Atlanta Christian 8, (R8 #4) East Jackson 0
(R2 #3) Liberty County at (R1 #2) Worth County
(R4 #4) Peach County at (R3 #1) Islands
(R5 #3) Pace Academy at (R6 #2) Sonoraville
(R7 #4) North Hall at (R8 #1) Jackson County
(R1 #3) Cook at (R2 #2) Long County
(R3 #4) Windsor Forest at (R4 #1) Pike County
(R8 #3) Monroe Area at (R7 #2) Dawson County
(R6 #4) Calhoun at (R5 #1) Westminster
(R4 #3) Jackson at (R3 #2) Savannah Arts
(R2 #4) Brantley County at (R1 #1) Crisp County
(R7 #3) Lumpkin County at (R8 #2) Morgan County
(R6 #1) Bremen 10, (R5 #4) Redan 0
(R3 #3) Southeast Bulloch at (R4 #2) Rutland
(R1 #4) Dougherty at (R2 #1) Pierce County
Class AA
*No. 1 team: St. Vincent's Academy
*2017 champion: St. Vincent's Academy
*Overview: St. Vincent's Academy comes into the tournament with a 13-3-1 record, with the three losses coming against higher-classification teams Columbus (6-3), St. Pius (7-0) and Glynn Academy (6-1). The Saints were dominant in Region 2-AA, compiling a 10-0 record and outscoring their opponents 98-3. East Laurens, last year's runner-up, is sitting at No. 2 in the rankings after going 17-1-1 in the regular season. The Falcons' only loss came against Class AAAAA No. 10 Harris County on Feb. 17. Lamar County and Harlem are ranked Nos. 3 and 4. The top four teams are positioned in separate quarters of the bracket.
*Worth noting: St. Vincent's became the first Savannah school since 2006 (and second overall) to win a state title when it beat East Laurens 10-0 in the Class AA final last year. Savannah Country Day won championships in 2002 and 2006.
*First-round matchups:
(R6 #3) South Atlanta at (R5 #2) Callaway
(R8 #4) Putnam County at (R7 #1) Model
(R2 #3) Toombs County at (R1 #2) Thomasville
(R4 #4) Jefferson County at (R3 #1) East Laurens
(R5 #3) Temple at (R6 #2) Douglass
(R7 #4) Rockmart at (R8 #1) Oglethorpe County
(R1 #3) Berrien at (R2 #2) Vidalia
(R3 #4) Dublin at (R4 #1) Harlem
(R8 #3) Rabun County at (R7 #2) Dade County
(R6 #4) Therrell at (R5 #1) Lamar County
(R4 #3) Johnson-Savannah at (R3 #2) Bleckley County
(R2 #4) Swainsboro at (R1 #1) Fitzgerald
(R7 #3) Coosa at (R8 #2) Elbert County
(R5 #4) Spencer at (R6 #1) KIPP Atlanta Collegiate
(R3 #3) Dodge County at (R4 #2) Screven County
(R1 #4) Brooks County at (R2 #1) St. Vincent’s Academy
Class A
*No. 1 team: Athens Academy
*2017 champion: Wesleyan
*Overview: The favorites are Athens Academy and First Presbyterian, which combined to win 35 of 36 games. No. 1 Athens Academy (17-1), which has never won a state title, has won 15 consecutive games since its only loss, 2-1 against AAAA Jefferson on Feb. 23. First Presbyterian (18-0), which won titles in 2011 and 2012, has shut out 14 opponents and allowed just six goals. Defending champion Wesleyan is unranked and enters the tournament with a 6-9-2 record, but five losses and both ties came against higher-classification teams. The Wolves won three of their final four regular-season games in area play to earn the No. 2 seed in Area 8-A.
*Worth noting: Next year, the GHSA will hold separate playoffs for Class A public schools and private schools. Only six public schools – Drew Charter, Lake Oconee Academy, Morris Innovative, Towns County, Trion and Treutlen – qualified for the combined tournament this season.
*First-round matchups:
(A6 #3) Mount Vernon Presbyterian at (A5 #2) Mount Pisgah Christian
(A8 #4) Lakeview Academy at (A7 #1) Darlington
(A1 #2) Savannah Country Day 3, (A2 #3) Stratford Academy 0
(A4 #4) Drew Charter at (A3 #1) Athens Academy
(A5 #3) Pinecrest Academy at (A6 #2) Holy Innocents’
(A7 #4) Morris Innovative at (A8 #1) Hebron Christian
(A1 #3) Savannah Christian at (A2 #2) Brookstone
(A3 #4) Lake Oconee Academy at (A4 #1) Eagle’s Landing Christian
(A8 #3) Towns County at (A7 #2) Christian Heritage
(A6 #4) Weber School at (A5 #1) Walker
(A4 #3) Landmark Christian at (A3 #2) Prince Avenue Christian
(A2 #4) Mount de Sales at (A1 #1) Calvary Day
(A7 #3) Trion at (A8 #2) Wesleyan
(A5 #4) Whitefield Academy at (A6 #1) Paideia
(A3 #3) Aquinas at (A4 #2) Atlanta International
(A1 #4) Treutlen at (A2 #1) First Presbyterian
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