Region 6-AA, which has provided every AA semifinalist since the classification began holding its separate girls soccer tournament in 2011, looks well on its way to extended its impressive streak.
The region’s four playoff representatives – Greater Atlanta Christian, Wesleyan, Pace Academy and Lovett, all of which were in the top four of the EurosportScoreboard.com rankings heading into the postseason – easily advanced to the second round, winning by a combined score of 40-3 against teams from Region 7.
Region champion and No. 1-ranked GAC was the first to advance, cruising past Armuchee 11-1 on Wednesday, and No. 2 seed Wesleyan eliminated Model 11-1 on Thursday. Pace Academy and Lovett moved on with victories Friday. No. 3 seed Pace Academy beat Dade County 8-1, and No. 4 seed Lovett recorded a 10-0 victory over Darlington, which was the only No. 1 seed in Class AA to lose in the first round.
Three of the four Region 6 teams will face ranked opponents in the second round. GAC will host No. 8 Long County, Wesleyan will travel to No. 6 St. Vincent’s, and Pace Academy will play at No. 7 East Laurens. Lovett will play at Vidalia, the No. 3 seed from Region 2.
GAC has won two consecutive state championships and three in the past four seasons.
Class AA and Class A were combined in one tournament until the 2011 season.
Here are some of the other highlights from first-round action in AAA, AA and A. The scores from all classifications and the matchups for the second round are listed below. Second-round games in all classifications are tentatively scheduled for Wednesday.
*Class AAA: The first round was dominated by four regions that combined to win 14 of 16 games. Regions 2 (Peach County, Jackson, Central-Macon, Rutland) and 8 (Oconee County, Morgan County, Jefferson, Jackson County) recorded 4-0 sweeps. Regions 4 (Westminster, Decatur, Blessed Trinity) and 7 (Dawson County, Lumpkin County, Fannin County) each went 3-1. The only other teams to advance to the second round were Region 1 champ Savannah Arts Academy and Region 6 winner Adairsville.
*Class AA: The five ranked teams from outside of Region 6 went 4-1 in the first round. The only one to lose was ninth-ranked Harlem, which was upset 2-1 by Vidalia. Fifth-ranked Holy Innocents' failed to make the playoffs as the fifth-place team from Region 6. Three regions went 3-1 – Region 1 (Thomasville, Fitzgerald, Berrien), Region 2 (St. Vincent's, Long County, Vidalia) and Region 8 (Union County, Social Circle and Rabun County).
*Class A: The No. 1 seeds received first-round byes and the No. 2 seeds went 6-2, leading to some heavyweight matchups in the second round. Perhaps the best second-round game will match No. 4 Paideia against top-ranked Fellowship Christian. Other top-10 matchups include No. 8 Calvary Day at No. 2 Stratford Academy, No. 9 Savannah Country Day at No. 3 Athens Academy, and No. 7 First Presbyterian at No. 6 Savannah Christian. Unranked Hebron Christian, the defending champion, will travel to No. 5 Walker.
Class AAAAAA
(First round)
(R1 #2) Lee County 1, (R4 #3) Marietta 0
(R5 #1) Lassiter 1, (R8 #4) Brookwood 0
(R7 #3) Mill Creek 2, (R6 #2) Johns Creek 1
(R2 #1) Lakeside-DeKalb 6, (R3 #4) Douglas County 0
(R4 #2) Hillgrove 5, (R1 #3) Lowndes 0
(R5 #4) Pope 2, (R8 #1) Parkview 1
(R7 #2) Collins Hill 3, (R6 #3) South Forsyth 0
(R3 #1) East Coweta 10, (R2 #4) Rockdale County 0
(R5 #2) Walton 2, (R8 #3) Dacula 1
(R1 #1) Tift County 4, (R4 #4) North Paulding 0
(R3 #3) Campbell 2, (R2 #2) Alcovy 1
(R6 #1) West Forsyth 3, (R7 #4) Duluth 1
(R8 #2) Grayson 2, (R5 #3) Milton 1
(R4 #1) Harrison 10, (R1 #4) Colquitt County 0
(R3 #2) Newnan 4, (R2 #3) Tucker 0
(R7 #1) North Gwinnett 2, (R6 #4) Lambert 1
(Second round)
(R1 #2) Lee County at (R5 #1) Lassiter
(R7 #3) Mill Creek at (R2 #1) Lakeside-DeKalb
(R5 #4) Pope at (R4 #2) Hillgrove
(R7 #2) Collins Hill at (R3 #1) East Coweta
(R5 #2) Walton at (R1 #1) Tift County
(R3 #3) Campbell at (R6 #1) West Forsyth
(R8 #2) Grayson at (R4 #1) Harrison
(R3 #2) Newnan at (R7 #1) North Gwinnett
Class AAAAA
(First round)
(R4 #3) Northgate 7, (R1 #2) Northside-Columbus 0
(R5 #1) Allatoona 8, (R8 #4) Lanier 2
(R7 #3) Forsyth Central 4, (R6 #2) Druid Hills 0
(R3 #4) Effingham County 2, (R2 #1) Houston County 1
(R4 #2) McIntosh 5, (R1 #3) LaGrange 0
(R8 #1) Gainesville 4, (R5 #4) Paulding County 0
(R7 #2) Cambridge 10, (R6 #3) M.L. King 0
(R2 #4) Lakeside-Evans 2, (R3 #1) Glynn Academy 1
(R5 #2) Alexander 3, (R8 #3) Loganville 1
(R1 #1) Columbus 1, (R4 #4) Union Grove 0
(R3 #3) Richmond Hill 2, (R2 #2) Evans 1
(R6 #1) Dunwoody 1, (R7 #4) Sequoyah 0
(R8 #2) Heritage-Conyers 5, (R5 #3) Villa Rica 1
(R4 #1) Starr’s Mill 9, (R1 #4) Harris County 0
(R3 #2) Camden County 7, (R2 #3) Warner Robins 0
(R7 #1) North Atlanta 10, (R6 #4) Southwest DeKalb 0
(Second round)
(R4 #3) Northgate at (R5 #1) Allatoona
(R3 #4) Effingham County at (R7 #3) Forsyth Central
(R4 #2) McIntosh at (R8 #1) Gainesville
(R2 #4) Lakeside-Evans at (R7 #2) Cambridge
(R5 #2) Alexander at (R1 #1) Columbus
(R3 #3) Richmond Hill at (R6 #1) Dunwoody
(R8 #2) Heritage-Conyers at (R4 #1) Starr’s Mill
(R3 #2) Camden County at (R7 #1) North Atlanta
Class AAAA
(First round)
(R4 #3) Locust Grove 2, (R1 #2) Worth County 0
(R5 #1) Whitewater 9, (R8 #4) White County 0
(R6 #2) St. Pius 10, (R7 #3) Southeast Whitfield 0
(R2 #1) Veterans 8, (R3 #4) Veterans 0
(R4 #2) Spalding 10, (R1 #3) Westover 0
(R8 #1) Buford 10, (R5 #4) Fayette County 0
(R6 #3) Grady 3, (R7 #2) Cartersville 0
(R3 #1) Windsor Forest 3, (R2 #4) West Laurens 1
(R8 #3) North Hall 4, (R5 #2) Carrollton 3
(R4 #4) Eagle's Landing 4, (R1 #1) Thomas County Central 0
(R2 #2) Upson-Lee 8, (R3 #3) New Hampstead 0
(R6 #1) Marist 6, (R7 #4) Northwest Whitfield 0
(R5 #3) Woodward Academy 5, (R8 #2) North Oconee 1
(R4 #1) Pike County 7, (R1 #4) Bainbridge 0
(R3 #2) Wayne County 3, (R2 #3) Mary Persons 0
(R6 #4) Chamblee 6, (R7 #1) Heritage-Catoosa 0
(Second round)
(R4 #3) Locust Grove at (R5 #1) Whitewater
(R6 #2) St. Pius at (R2 #1) Veterans
(R4 #2) Spalding at (R8 #1) Buford
(R6 #3) Grady at (R3 #1) Windsor Forest
(R4 #4) Eagle's Landing at (R8 #3) North Hall
(R2 #2) Upson-Lee at (R6 #1) Marist
(R5 #3) Woodward Academy at (R4 #1) Pike County
(R6 #4) Chamblee at (R3 #2) Wayne County
Class AAA
(First round)
(R4 #3) Blessed Trinity 2, (R1 #2) Pierce County 0
(R8 #4) Jackson County 5, (R5 #1) Central-Carrollton 2
(R7 #3) Fannin County 1, (R6 #2) Coahulla Creek 0
(R2 #1) Peach County 8, (R3 #4) Johnson-Augusta 1
(R4 #2) Decatur 5, (R1 #3) Islands 0
(R8 #1) Oconee County 9, (R5 #4) Cedartown 0
(R7 #2) Lumpkin County 5, (R6 #3) Calhoun 0
(R2 #4) Rutland 3, (R3 #1) Glenn Hills 2
(R8 #3) Jefferson 5, (R5 #2) Rockmart 0
(R1 #1) Savannah Arts Academy 9, (R4 #4) Jackson-Atlanta 0
(R2 #2) Jackson 3, (R3 #3) Westside-Augusta 1
(R6 #1) Adairsville 8, (R7 #4) West Hall 1
(R8 #2) Morgan County 7, (R5 #3) Callaway 0
(R4 #1) Westminster 10, (R1 #4) Southeast Bulloch 0
(R2 #3) Central-Macon 4, (R3 #2) Washington County 0
(R7 #1) Dawson County 2, (R6 #4) Sonoraville 0
(Second round)
(R8 #4) Jackson County at (R4 #3) Blessed Trinity
(R7 #3) Fannin County at (R2 #1) Peach County
(R4 #2) Decatur at (R8 #1) Oconee County
(R2 #4) Rutland at (R7 #2) Lumpkin County
(R8 #3) Jefferson at (R1 #1) Savannah Arts Academy
(R2 #2) Jackson at (R6 #1) Adairsville
(R8 #2) Morgan County at (R4 #1) Westminster
(R2 #3) Central-Macon at (R7 #1) Dawson County
Class AA
(First round)
(R1 #2) Fitzgerald 2, (R4 #3) Bleckley County 0
(R5 #1) Bremen 6, (R8 #4) Oglethorpe County 1
(R6 #2) Wesleyan 11, (R7 #3) Model 1
(R2 #1) St. Vincent's 10, (R3 #4) Dublin 0
(R1 #3) Berrien 3, (R4 #2) Putnam County 1
(R8 #1) Union County 9, (R5 #4) Chattahoochee County 0
(R6 #3) Pace Academy 8, (R7 #2) Dade County 1
(R3 #1) East Laurens 10, (R2 #4) Bryan County 0
(R8 #3) Rabun County 4, (R5 #2) Temple 0
(R1 #1) Thomasville 6, (R4 #4) Monticello 0
(R2 #2) Long County 1, (R3 #3) Screven County 0
(R6 #1) Greater Atlanta Christian 11, (R7 #4) Armuchee 1
(R8 #2) Social Circle 7, (R5 #3) Bowdon 0
(R4 #1) Lamar County 9, (R1 #4) Brooks County 0
(R2 #3) Vidalia 2, (R3 #2) Harlem 1
(R6 #4) Lovett 10, (R7 #1) Darlington 0
(Second round)
(R1 #2) Fitzgerald at (R5 #1) Bremen
(R6 #2) Wesleyan at (R2 #1) St. Vincent's
(R1 #3) Berrien at (R8 #1) Union County
(R6 #3) Pace Academy at (R3 #1) East Laurens
(R8 #3) Rabun County at (R1 #1) Thomasville
(R2 #2) Long County at (R6 #1) Greater Atlanta Christian
(R8 #2) Social Circle at (R4 #1) Lamar County
(R6 #4) Lovett at (R2 #3) Vidalia
Class A
(First round)
(A2 #1) Stratford Academy bye
(A1 #2) Calvary Day 10, (A4 #3) Landmark Christian 1
(A8 #1) Lakeview Academy bye
(A6 #3) Mount Pisgah Christian 3, (A7 #2) Mount Paran Christian 1
(A6 #1) Fellowship Christian bye
(A5 #2) Paideia 3, (A8 #3) Towns County 0
(A4 #1) Eagle's Landing Christian bye
(A3 #2) Aquinas 4, (A2 #3) Mount de Sales 1
(A5 #1) Atlanta International bye
(A6 #2) Pinecrest Academy 9, (A7 #3) North Cobb Christian 0
(A3 #1) Athens Academy bye
(A1 #3) Savannah Country Day 3, (A4 #2) Our Lady of Mercy 0
(A1 #1) Savannah Christian bye
(A2 #2) First Presbyterian 8, (A3 #3) Prince Avenue Christian 0
(A7 #1) Walker bye
(A8 #2) Hebron Christian 3, (A5 #3) Whitefield Academy 0
(Second round)
(A1 #2) Calvary Day at (A2 #1) Stratford Academy
(A6 #3) Mount Pisgah Christian at (A8 #1) Lakeview Academy
(A5 #2) Paideia at (A6 #1) Fellowship Christian
(A3 #2) Aquinas at (A4 #1) Eagle's Landing Christian
(A6 #2) Pinecrest Academy at (A5 #1) Atlanta International
(A1 #3) Savannah Country Day at (A3 #1) Athens Academy
(A2 #2) First Presbyterian at (A1 #1) Savannah Christian
(A8 #2) Hebron Christian at (A7 #1) Walker
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