Emmanuel Raji scored two goals to lead host Collins Hill to a 4-0 victory over Lowndes County on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Georgia High School Association Class AAAAA boys soccer tournament.
Playing on a field more suited to the bumpy rides of motocross than soccer, the Eagles (19-1) also got goals from Zak Wallingford and Nima Vojdani to win their 13th consecutive game. They will face the winner of the game between Coffee County and Lassiter in the semifinals on Wednesday. The state championship is May 14.
"I thought the effort was good," Collins Hill coach Drew Prentice said. "We could have made better decisions that would have helped us, especially after only two days of coming out here at 5 p.m. in 80-degree weather, which we haven't done."
Aside from trying to defeat the two-time defending state champion just a few minutes after finishing a five-hour bus ride, the Vikings (16-4) had other issues. Jordan Weise, a Georgia State signee and one of the team's most dangerous scorers, didn't start because of a thigh strain. On the other end of the pitch, goalkeeper Joseph Stevens didn't make the trip for an undisclosed reason. Freshman Chris Schenk made his first start.
After wasting numerous chances in the first half, the Eagles finally broke through and took the lead with 10 minutes remaining in the first half on a penalty kick by Raji. Schenk dove to his right and had the weak shot smothered, only for the ball to trickle underneath him and across the line. The penalty was set up by a one-two pass from Raji to Mark Riggins, who was brought down in the penalty box.
The Eagles made it 2-0 on a nice set piece. Dominic Bonilla hit a well-lofted, curling direct kick right-to-left across the goal that Jordan Brust headed back into play before it crossed the end line. The ball landed at Raji's feet, and he rifled a shot into the lower left corner in the 31st minute.
Wallingford added a third three minutes later when he turned on a cross from Andrew Olortegui and hammered it into the goal. Lowndes' Steven Willis received a red card after the play for touching the referee.
Vojdani put in a penalty with 18 minutes remaining after Fabrice Momo was taken down in the penalty box. Weise missed a penalty for the Vikings a minute later after a handball was called on Collins Hill. Zaki Colabawala dove to his right to save the low, hard shot.
"We fought the best we could against a really skilled team," Lowndes coach Paul Strassburg said. "They are an amazing team."
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