The GHSA lacrosse playoffs begin this week with the first rounds taking place Tuesday and Wednesday. We covered the bracket for the Class A-AAAAA boys last week; let's take a look at the rest today.
In Class AAAAAA boys, the season has been marked by the dominance of Area 3. The league's top three seeds enter the postseason also atop the state rankings. An area tiebreaker left third-ranked Johns Creek as the No. 1 seed, second-ranked Centennial as the No. 2 seed, and top-ranked Lambert as the No. 3 seed.
That means a tough draw for No. 8 Pope, which will host Lambert in the opening round. The Longhorns have won eight straight since falling to Centennial in late March, taking attention-grabbing wins over stout competition inside Georgia’s borders and beyond during that span. Lambert’s win over highly touted McCallie School (Tenn.) on April 18 was followed with a win over Lovett (No. 2 Class A-AAAAA) and a 9-8 victory against Johns Creek that forced a three-way tie in the area.
Johns Creek also enters the postseason with some momentum after taking a 10-9 victory over Westminster, the top-ranked team in Class A-AAAAA, on Friday.
Class AAAAAA girls: Top-ranked Milton is aiming for its sixth straight state championship. The Lady Eagles, who haven't lost to a team from Georgia since 2009, defeated second-ranked Lassiter, 12-9, on Tuesday in their narrowest margin of victory within the state this spring. Milton will host Lambert in the first round on Tuesday, and will not cross paths with a ranked team until the semifinals.
Lassiter, meanwhile, faces a challenging slate. As the runner-up behind Milton in Area 2, the second-ranked Lady Trojans will host No. 8 West Forsyth in one of three first-round games that feature a pair of ranked foes.
Class A-AAAAA girls: Area 3 champions Cambridge enter the playoffs as the top-ranked team after a dominant run through the regular season. Only five of the Lady Bears' 17 wins came by fewer than 10 goals, and their only loss came by a single goal against Bishop Eustace Prep (N.J.).
Third-ranked Kell is the defending state champ and the top seed from Area 2 champ after defeating Westminster last week, 16-8, in a rematch of last season’s state title game.
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Class AAAAAA boys
All games May 6
Lassiter (10-8, No. 3 Area 2) at Centennial (16-2, No. 2 Area 3)
Collins Hill (9-7, No. 4 Area 4) at Harrison (14-4, No. 1 Area 1)
Lambert (16-2, No. 3 Area 3) at Pope (14-3, No. 2 Area 2)
Hillgrove (8-8, No. 4 Area 1) at North Gwinnett (15-2, No. 1 Area 4)
North Paulding (12-5, No. 3 Area 1) at Mill Creek (16-2, No. 2 Area 4)
Northview (14-4, No. 4 Area 3) at Roswell (16-2, No. 1 Area 4)
Peachtree Ridge (10-5, No. 3 Area 4) at Kennesaw Mountain (11-4, No. 2 Area 1)
Etowah (12-6, No. 4 Area 2) at Johns Creek (12-4, No. 1 Area 3)
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Class A-AAAAA boys
All games May 5
Pace Academy (12-5, No. 3 Area 2) at Greater Atlanta Christian (12-6, No. 2 Area 3)
Marist (12-5, No. 4 Area 4) at Lovett (13-5, No. 1 Area 1)
Wesleyan (14-3, No. 3 Area 3) at Allatoona (15-3, No. 2 Area 2)
McIntosh (12-5, No. 4 Area 1) at St. Pius X (13-3, No. 1 Area 4)
Woodward Academy (7-10, No. 3 Area 1) at Benedictine (8-5, No. 2 Area 4)
Blessed Trinity (9-7, No. 4 Area 3) at Westminster (16-2, No. 1 Area 2)
Decatur (8-8, No. 3 Area 4) at Starrs’ Mill (12-5, No. 2 Area 1)
Kell (13-4, No. 4 Area 2) at Cambridge (15-3, No. 1 Area 3)
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Class AAAAAA girls
All games Tuesday, May 5
Walton (12-6, No. 3 Area 2) at Northview (11-5-1, No. 2 Area 3)
Grayson (10-7, No. 4 Area 4) at Harrison (12-4, No. 1 Area 1)
West Forsyth (12-4, No. 3 Area 3) at Lassiter (14-4, No. 2 Area 2)
Newnan (7-10, No. 4 Area 1) at North Gwinnett (15-2, No. 1 Area 4)
North Paulding (13-5, No. 3 Area 1) at Collins Hill (14-3, No. 2 Area 4)
Lambert (8-7, No. 4 Area 3) at Milton (14-4, No. 1 Area 2)
Mill Creek (11-4, No. 3 Area 4) at Kennesaw Mountain (12-5, No. 2 Area 1)
Pope (12-5-1, No. 4 Area 2) at Chattahoochee (14-3, No. 1 Area 3)
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Class A-AAAAA girls
All games Wednesday, May 6
Creekview (15-2, No. 3 Area 2) at Blessed Trinity (15-2, No. 2 Area 3)
Union Grove (12-5, No. 4 Area 4) at McIntosh (11-7, No. 1 Area 1)
Wesleyan (9-6, No. 3 Area 3) at Westminster (16-2, No. 2 Area 2)
Starr’s Mill (7-6, No. 4 Area 1) at St. Pius X (14-3, No. 1 Area 4)
Woodward Academy (10-4, No. 3 Area 1) at Lakeside-Evans (10-1, No. 2 Area 4)
Holy Innocents’ (5-7, No. 4 Area 3) at Kell (15-3, No. 1 Area 2)
Marist (10-4, No. 3 Area 4) at Lovett (7-9, No. 2 Area 1)
Sprayberry (11-5, No. 4 Area 2) at Cambridge (17-1, No. 1 Area 3)
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Brent Holloway can be reached via Twitter, @thebholloway.
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