The Harrison girls soccer team has one of the state’s top defenses, so the Hoyas rarely need to score more than once to win a game.
They got that goal less than three minutes into Tuesday’s Class AAAAA semifinal at Walton, then added an insurance goal early in the second half for a 2-0 victory against the Raiders. The win puts Harrison in Friday’s state championship game at home against North Gwinnett or Mill Creek.
Top-ranked Harrison (20-0-2) has allowed five goals this season, including two in the past 20 games, and the shutout Tuesday was its 18th of the season. No. 2 Walton had its 10-game winning streak snapped and finished the season 15-2-3.
Cicely Taliaferro scored off a corner kick from Hannah Deltac at the 37:31 mark of the first half for the game’s first goal. It was Harrison’s only real scoring opportunity of the first half, although the Hoyas made Walton goalkeeper Sarah Shaver grab loose balls in traffic a couple of other times to keep the Raiders within one goal.
“Sometimes that can be a double-edged sword because they sort of relax,” Harrison coach Steve Riccard said of the early goal. “That was my concern. You can see that they came at us pretty hard for a good bit of time there, but it was a great goal.”
Each team had good shots in the first few minutes of the second half before Harrison finally broke through again. Anna Sims took a pass from Monica Herrera in front of the net and scored with 28:44 remaining in the game.
Walton had its chances, especially early in the second half. Perhaps its best came at the 34:10 mark when Johanna Liney blasted a shot from the right side that Harrison freshman goalkeeper Allison Leone punched away. Liney and Kiana Nicholson each had four good scoring chances, but the Raiders never could get one past Leone.
Walton’s Brooke Theobald seemed to have spoiled Harrison’s shutout with less than three minutes to play, but she was called offside, and her apparent goal was waved off.
Walton had the better scoring opportunities in the first half. Theobald had the Raiders’ first shot on goal, putting a free kick from 50 yards out on net, but Leone was there for the stop. Leone also handled shots by Nicholson and Liney later in the half to preserve the lead.
“We were able to defend relentlessly,” Riccard said. “And it just shows the character of our kids under a siege there. We knew they were going to come at us.”
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