Here are some of the top stories in girls soccer this week:
*Vocelka on a hot streak: St. Pius senior forward Amanda Vocelka scored three goals to lead the Golden Lions past Carrollton 4-0 on Tuesday. She also had three of St. Pius' seven goals in the recent Tournament of Champions in Jekyll Island, where the Golden Lions beat Union Grove 4-1 and Auburn (Ala.) 3-0. Vocelka entered the season with 62 career goals and recently signed with Villanova. St. Pius, ranked No. 1 by Score Atlanta and No. 2 by Eurosport in the most recent rankings, is 10-2 overall and has won nine consecutive games heading into Tuesday's matchup with Decatur.
*Youth movement: Towers freshman Mia Carradine is the DeKalb County leader in goals with 12 and is tied for second in assists with seven, according to the most recent statistics released by the county on Thursday. Chamblee freshman Kamilah Mustafa is the leader in assists with eight and is third in goals with nine. Other goal leaders are Chamblee's Louise McGirt with 10, Towers' Bridgette Grimes with nine and Chamblee's Ally Jones with eight. Assist leaders include Grimes with seven, Arabia Mountain's Jeyeina Hylton with six and Chamblee's Kerstin Thule with five. Among goalkeepers, Lakeside freshman Miranda McNalley and Tucker senior Melissa Lippy have yet to allow a goal.
*Battle for the top: The pecking order in 4-AAAAA will be established over the next seven days when the top three teams in the AAAAA rankings begin their head-to-head matchups. Northgate (7-0 heading into the weekend), the defending champion and current No. 1 team, kicks off a rugged week on Monday when it hosts second-ranked McIntosh (8-0). The Vikings will play an out-of-region game at Carrollton (Class AAAA No. 10) on Wednesday before getting back into region on Friday against third-ranked Starr's Mill (10-1) at home. Starr's Mill and McIntosh will meet on April 22. Either Northgate (2013), McIntosh (2011 and 2012) or Starr's Mill (2010) has won the state title in the second-highest classification each of the past four years.
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