It was a relatively uneventful first night in the high school girls soccer state tournament, where the higher-seeded teams went 37-7 on Tuesday. The eight region champions in Class AAAAAA were 8-0 and outscored their opponents by a combined 41-5. No. 2 seeds in the largest classification went 6-2, with Johns Creek losing to Milton 2-0 and Alcovy losing to Lee County 4-2. Three No. 4 seeds pulled off upsets in the lower classes – Walnut Grove over Windsor Forest and West Laurens over Thomas County Central in AAAA and Creekview over Gainesville in AAAAA. Four first-round games in the three highest classes were played Wednesday night. The Class AAA, AA and A tournaments begin on Thursday.
- Hopes dashed: The highest-ranked team to lose on Tuesday was Class AAAAA No. 5 Gainesville, which lost a 2-1 decision against Creekview in a game decided in a penalty-kick shootout. Creekview's Mackenzie Cherry and Gainesville's Alyssa Turner scored in regulation before Creekview won the shootout 4-3. "I think if we look back on it, I'm sure there were 10 chances that were really good chances that we messed up," Red Elephants coach Mark Wade told the Gainesville Times. "We kicked it to the keeper several times and missed a run or missed a pass, little things like that. It comes back and bites you." The other ranked teams that were eliminated on Tuesday were No. 6 South Forsyth, No. 9 Johns Creek and No. 10 Pope in Class AAAAAA and No. 10 Rome in AAAAA.
- Looking ahead: Top-ranked Harrison and No. 3 Grayson appear on a collision course for a third-round rematch of the 2014 Class AAAAAA championship game, which Harrison won 2-1. The Hoyas (16-0) recorded their 13th shutout of the season and extended their winning streak to 38 games with a 10-0 first-round victory against Westlake. Grayson got three goals from 2014 state player of the year Jennifer Westendorf in a 6-1 victory against North Gwinnett. Milton awaits Harrison in the second round, and Grayson will face Lee County. "We obviously know that Harrison is a great team and if we get to that game, there's no doubt that it will be a great match," Grayson coach Terry Klinect told the Gwinnett Daily Post. "But our focus has to be on our second-round opponent. We can't lose focus of that."
- Domination: One region worth watching when play begins Thursday in the Class AA tournament is 6-AA, which sent all four of its playoff teams to the state semifinals last season and could make a similar run this year. Greater Atlanta Christian, Lovett, Wesleyan and Westminster advanced to the 2014 semifinals, with GAC defeating Lovett 3-0 to win the championship. Westminster has moved on to Class AAA, where it is ranked No. 1, so this year's lineup from 6-AA includes GAC, Lovett, Wesleyan and Holy Innocents', all of which are ranked in the top six. Top-ranked GAC begins its title defense against Manchester at 5 p.m.
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