Four Georgia teams were ranked among the top 20 spring teams nationally in the first regular-season poll, released on Tuesday, by USA Today and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Leading the way was Class AAAAAA Lassiter at No. 3. The Trojans have outscored their opponents 35-1 during a 9-0 start. Class AAAAA McIntosh (9-0) came in at No. 7, and its region and Fayette County rival Starr’s Mill (11-0) was No. 11 after being unranked in the preseason. The two undefeated teams from Region 4-AAAAA will meet at Starr’s Mill on April 15. Class AAAA Marist (10-0-1) rounded out the Georgia contingent at No. 17.
In the USA Today/NSCAA rankings for Region II (made up of teams from Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina), Lassiter was No. 1, followed by No. 2 McIntosh, No. 3 Starr’s Mill, No. 4 Marist, No. 5 Westminster and No. 6 Lovett.
Rivalries on display
Several of the state’s top soccer rivalries took center stage this week. In Class AAAAAA, South Forsyth (No. 3 in the state’s Eurosport rankings) kept its region title hopes alive with a 1-0 victory Tuesday over No. 2 Lambert. Jenna Vollrath had the only goal for South Forsyth (9-1, 4-1 in 6-AAAAA), which has allowed just four goals and recorded seven shutouts. The War Eagles’ only loss came against West Forsyth, which is undefeated in region play. Lambert, the state runner-up last season, fell to 10-2 overall and 4-2 in the region.
Top-ranked Westminster (8-1, 5-0) took care of its biggest threat in 4-AAA when it beat No. 4 Blessed Trinity 3-0 on Tuesday. The game was a rematch of last season’s state championship game, which Westminster also won 3-0 for its second title in three seasons. The shutout was the sixth in a row for Westminster, which suffered its only loss to Marist 2-1 on Feb. 17.
Class AAAA No. 1 St. Pius and No. 2 Marist also played a championship-game rematch on Tuesday, but the defending champion lost this time. Marist (10-0-1, 7-0) remained undefeated in 6-AAAA with a 2-1 victory. The loss was the first in region play for St. Pius (8-4-1, 4-1), which beat Marist 1-0 in the final last season for its third consecutive state title and sixth in seven years.
Prepping for the postseason
Class AAAAAA No. 5 Harrison took care of Marietta 5-0 on Tuesday in the final tune-up for a rugged final seven games of the regular season against teams with a combined record of 66-15-5. The stretch begins Friday night against North Atlanta (8-2-1), continues with Region 4 matches against North Paulding (8-2) and Hillgrove (8-3-1), features matchups against Alabama schools Spain Park (13-1-1) and Oak Mountain (14-1-1), and concludes with games against Kennesaw Mountain (6-6-1) and McIntosh (9-0).
Harrison, which won the state title in 2014, lost to eventual champion Grayson in the quarterfinals last season. The Hoyas have four players who have signed college scholarships – Treva Aycock (Furman), Melissa Cameron (Alabama-Birmingham), Katlyn Kauffman (North Georgia) and Lizzy Sieracki (Virginia).
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