There are storied programs and championship contenders across each of the 16 matches remaining in the GHSA soccer season, which will end this week at McEachern, Duluth and Mercer University in Macon.
Teams competing in the final matches of the season have won a total of 70 championships since the GHSA began awarding titles in 1966 on the boys side and 1992 on the girls side. As a testament to the growth of the beautiful game at the prep level in the state, there are 13 teams trying for program-first state championships throughout the week.
Campbell (7A boys), Kennesaw Mountain (7A boys), Sprayberry (6A boys), River Ridge (6A boys), Hebron Christian (3A boys), Columbus (3A boys), Toombs County (2A boys), Model (2A boys) and Atkinson County (A Division II boys) will try for first-time boys championships. Buford (7A girls), Cambridge (5A girls), Mount Paran (2A girls), Lake Oconee Academy (A-Division II girls) will try for program-first girls state championships.
STORIED CHAMPIONS
Out of the championship field, there have been 37 state titles won on the boys side and 33 championships for the girls. Leading the boys title holders, Class 4A finalist Westminster has previously won 14 championships and 5A finalist McIntosh has won eight titles.
Westminster’s boys won championships in 1966 and 1967, 1976, 1982-83, 2001, 2006-07, 2011-13 and 2017-19. McIntosh won in 1992, 2000 and 2007 but since 2013, the team has won five titles. Other boys champions trying to win another are Paideia (A Division I) with five titles (2013-14, 2016, 2018 and 2023), Decatur (5A) has won three titles (1977, 2003 and 2016), Johnson-Gainesville (4A) has three titles (2018, 2022 and 2023) Atlanta International (A Division I) has two titles (2015 and 2022) and Georgia Military (A Division II) has two titles (2019 and 2021).
On the girls side, Marist leads with 11 state championships including championships in 2013-14, 2018 and 2022. Behind Marist, Lovett (4A) has five titles (2001, 2005, 2016, 2021-22), Greater Atlanta Christian (5A) has won three titles (2012, 2014-15), Paideia (A Division I) has won three titles (2000-01 and 2013). West Forsyth (7A) has won two titles (2021-22), Fellowship Christian (2A) has won two titles (2016 and 2023) and Wesleyan (3A) has won two titles (2017 and 2019). Roswell (6A), North Oconee (4A), Oconee County (3A), Aquinas (A-Division II) and Social Circle (A Division I) each have one championship victory.
RETURNING TO THE TOP
The defending champions who return to the state title matches have built upon last year’s successes while teaching the younger players on the team just how to carve out a title run. On the boys side there are two defending champions left in the field. Johnson-Gainesville (4A) returns after winning the program’s third championship last season. In Class A Division I, Paideia is back to try for the team’s sixth title after winning the fifth last year. There are four defending champions on the girls side of the title matches. Roswell’s girls won the program’s first state title last season and advanced back to the Class 6A championship match. Similarly, Oconee County won the 3A title last year, its first, and returns to the 3A championship. Aquinas won a program-first last season and is back in the Class A Division II match. Fellowship Christian (2A) has two titles and is trying for its third title after winning in 2016 and last season.
WE BOTH WANTED TO GO
There’s one program – Class A Division I Paideia – which placed both the boys and girls teams in the championship matches. The boys beat Trion 4-0, Elbert County 9-0, East Laurens 7-0 and then outlasted Mount Vernon 4-3 in penalty kicks to earn the championship berth. The girls beat Dade County 7-0, Oglethorpe County 8-0, Bleckley County 10-0 and then upended Atlanta International 2-0 in the semifinals and are hoping for the team’s fourth title but first since 2013.
See the state championship schedule below.
Tuesday
Class A Division II Girls/Boys
At Mercer
Girls: Aquinas at Lake Oconee Academy, 5 p.m.
Boys: Atkinson County vs. Georgia Military, 7 p.m.
Class A Division I Girls/Boys
At McEachern
Girls: Social Circle at Paideia, 5 p.m.
Boys: Paideia at Atlanta International, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday
Class 2A Girls/Boys
At Mercer
Girls: Fellowship Christian vs. Mount Paran, 5 p.m.
Boys: Toombs County vs. Model, 7:30 p.m.
Class 3A Girls/Boys
At McEachern
Girls: Oconee County vs. Wesleyan, 5 p.m.
Boys: Hebron Christian vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
Class 4A Girls/Boys
At Duluth
Girls: Lovett vs. North Oconee, 5 p.m.
Boys: Johnson-Gainesville vs. Westminster, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday
Class 5A Girls/Boys
At Duluth
Girls: Greater Atlanta Christian vs. Cambridge, 5 p.m.
Boys: McIntosh at Decatur, 7:30 p.m.
Class 6A Girls/Boys
At McEachern
Girls: Roswell vs. Marist, 5 p.m.
Boys: Sprayberry vs. River Ridge, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Class 7A Boys/Girls
Girls: Buford vs. West Forsyth, 5 p.m.
Boys: Campbell vs. Kennesaw Mountain, 7:30 p.m.
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