Five reigning state champions remain alive heading into the second round of the high school girls soccer playoffs, which begins Monday at the home of the higher-seeded teams.
Lassiter, Marist, Westminster, Lovett and Social Circle – which won state titles in 2022 – easily advanced through the first round, outscoring their opponents 37-1. The closest game was Social Circle’s 2-1 victory over Whitefield Academy in Class A Division I. Social Circle was the Class A Public champion last season.
Lassiter and Marist are both in the Class 6A field this season. Lassiter is the defending champion, and Marist moved up two classes during reclassification after winning 4A in 2022. Westminster and Lovett moved up to Class 4A this season after Westminster won 3A and Lovett won 2A last year.
West Forsyth saw its two-year reign in Class 7A come to an end when it lost to Walton 3-0 in the first round. West Forsyth was the No. 4 seed from Region 6, while Walton is the Region 5 champion and the No. 4 ranked team in the state.
The other 2022 state champion, Pinecrest Academy, has moved from the GHSA to the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools. The Paladins won Class A Private last year.
Chamblee won the Class 5A tournament in 2022 but was later stripped of the title because of GHSA rules violations. The top-ranked Bulldogs began the road back to the state finals with a 9-0 first-round victory over Northside-Columbus last week.
Higher-seeded teams, playing at home, dominated the first round with a record of 90-27 (77 percent). Eleven other teams received byes into the second round.
The higher-seeded teams were most dominant in Class 7A, winning 15 of 16 first-round games. The only road team to come away with a victory was Milton, which defeated Region 5 runner-up Cherokee 1-0. The 16 winning team in Class 7A all recorded shutouts and outscored their opposition 71-0.
Milton’s victory over Cherokee was one of three 1-0 games in the Class 7A first round. Others were Brookwood over Hillgrove and Mill Creek over Peachtree Ridge.
Only six No. 4 seeds survived the first round. They are Roswell and Sequoyah in Class 6A, Trinity Christian in 4A, Toombs County in 2A, and Treutlen and Lincoln County in A Division II.
Three other teams seeded lower than fourth are still alive in Class A Division II, which filled its 24-team playoff bracket with the top six seeds from each of the four areas. Greene County was the only No. 6 teams to survive, defeating Christian Heritage 2-0. No. 5 seeds Montgomery County (2-1 victory over Lanier County) and GMC Prep (10-0 over Manchester) are also headed to the second round.
Second-round matchups:
(Games beginning Monday)
Class 7A
(R6 #2) Denmark at (R7 #1) Norcross
(R4 #2) Brookwood at (R1 #1) Richmond Hill
(R6 #3) Milton at (R8 #1) Mill Creek
(R3 #2) North Paulding at (R2 #1) Campbell
(R2 #2) East Coweta at (R3 #1) Harrison
(R8 #2) Buford at (R5 #1) Walton
(R1 #2) Lowndes at (R4 #1) Archer
(R7 #2) North Gwinnett at (R6 #1) Forsyth Central
Class 5A
(R6 #2) Northview at (R7 #1) Dalton
(R4 #2) Decatur (R1 #1) Greenbrier
(R6 #3) Greater Atlanta Christian at (R8 #1) Loganville
(R3 #2) Northgate at (R2 #1) Union Grove
(R2 #2) Dutchtown at (R3 #1) McIntosh
(R8 #2) Jefferson at (R5 #1) Midtown
(R2 #3) Ola at (R4 #1) Chamblee
(R8 #3) Eastside at (R6 #1) Cambridge
Class 3A
(R6 #2) Coahulla Creek at (R7 #1) Wesleyan
(R3 #3) Calvary Day at (R1 #1) Columbus
(R6 #3) Adairsville at (R8 #1) Oconee County
(R3 #2) Savannah Country Day at (R2 #1) Pike County
(R2 #2) Mary Persons at (R3 #1) St. Vincent’s
(R7 #3) White County at (R5 #1) Sandy Creek
(R2 #3) Jackson at (R4 #1) Morgan County
(R7 #2) Lumpkin County at (R6 #1) Bremen
Class A Division I
(R6 #2) Mount Vernon at (R7 #1) Dade County
(R4 #2) Temple at (R1 #1) Bacon County
(R6 #3) Atlanta International at (R8 #1) Commerce
(R3 #2) Claxton at (R2 #1) Bleckley County
(R2 #2) East Laurens at (R3 #1) Screven County
(R8 #2) Tallulah Falls at (R5 #1) Social Circle
(R2 #3) Dublin at (R4 #1) Lamar County
(R7 #2) Darlington at (R6 #1) Paideia
Class A Division II
(A3 #3) Towns County at (A2 #2) Portal
(A2 #4) Treutlen at (A1 #1) Hawkinsville
(A2 #3) Johnson County at (A3 #2) Lake Oconee Academy
(A3 #4) Lincoln County at (A4 #1)
(A3 #6) Greene County at (A1 #2) Dooly County
(A2 #5) Montgomery County at (A2 #1) McIntosh County Academy
(A1 #3) Atkinson County at (A4 #2) Mount Zion-Carroll
(A3 #5) GMC Prep at (A3 #1) Aquinas
(Games beginning Wednesday)
Class 6A
(R6 #2) Etowah at (R7 #1) Pope
(R4 #2) North Atlanta at (R1 #1) Houston County
(R7 #4) Roswell at (R6 #3) River Ridge
(R4 #3) St. Pius at (R2 #1) Glynn Academy
(R2 #2) Grovetown at (R3 #1) Woodward Academy
(R6 #4) Sequoyah at (R7 #3) Lassiter
(R1 #2) Thomas County Central at (R4 #1) Marist
(R7 #2) Blessed Trinity at (R6 #1) Allatoona
Class 4A
(R6 #2) Holy Innocents’ at (R7 #1) Heritage-Catoosa
(R4 #2) Whitewater at (R1 #1) Bainbridge
(R5 #2) Pace Academy at (R8 #1) North Oconee
(R4 #3) LaGrange at (R2 #1) Perry
(R4 #4) Trinity Christian at (R1 #3) Shaw
(R8 #2) Cherokee Bluff at (R5 #1) Lovett
(R2 #3) Spalding at (R4 #1) Starr’s Mill
(R7 #2) Northwest Whitfield at (R6 #1) Westminster
Class 2A
(R6 #2) North Cobb Christian at (R7 #1) Model
(R3 #3) Appling County at (R1 #1) Fitzgerald
(R6 #3) Walker at (R8 #1) Fellowship Christian
(R3 #2) Pierce County at (R2 #1) ACE Charter
(R1 #3) Worth County at (R3 #1) Savannah Arts Academy
(R8 #2) Athens Academy at (R5 #1) Landmark Christian
(R3 #4) Toombs County at (R1 #2) Jeff Davis
(R8 #3) Union County at (R6 #1) Mount Paran Christian
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