North Gwinnett girls win state title

For the second consecutive night, the Class AAAAA championships were plagued by weather problems. The boys final Friday night was delayed in the second half for more than an hour because of lightning. On Saturday, lightning held up the start of the girls game for about 15 minutes, and the second half was delayed almost an hour and 40 minutes and did not begin until 10:52 p.m.

It did not take the Bulldogs long to add to their 1-0 lead when play resumed. Less than three minutes into the second half, Au passed the ball in front of the net from the left side, and Lauren Harriman headed it. Au completed the scoring with nine minutes remaining when she kicked in a pass from Taylor Burns.

Although Northview mounted a little more offensive pressure in the second half than it did in the first 40 minutes, its scoring chances were limited. Bulldogs goalkeeper Lauren Duncan and the defense were able to preserve the shutout the rest of the way.

Au, a South Carolina signee, went to work almost immediately at the game’s outset, missing a bit high on a shot from the left side less than a minute in. After converting on her second opportunity, Au had five more shots in the first half. She missed a bit wide on the first three, and Northview goalkeeper Hannah Riddle made saves on the other two, including one which she punched just over the crossbar.

Northview, meanwhile, was unable to get anything going on offense, as the Titans did not have a shot on goal in the first half. The only time the Titans got the ball in deep was when a free kick bounced around in front of the net, but it was easily corralled by Duncan.