St. Pius, which won the boys and girls state championships in Class AAA last season, tuned up for another run at the dual titles when it swept the Region 5-AAA championships Tuesday night.
The girls team, ranked No. 1 in Class AAA, improved to 12-4-1 with a 7-0 victory against first-year program Johns Creek in the region final. Alexa Newfield, the team's leading scorer and a Georgia signee, and sophomore Diana Soloaga scored two goals each. Senior Rissa Rufulo, senior Liza Hill and freshman Caroline Wootten added the other goals.
"The girls really worked hard last week to prepare for the region championship game," St. Pius girls coach Sara Geiger said. "We had already played Johns Creek and allowed two goals to be scored [in a 6-2 St. Pius victory], so we knew they had dangerous attacking players. Our defense really stepped up and played together and played smart, keeping Johns Creek out of the net. Also, our passing as a team was very quick and precise, allowing us to put together great attacking sequences."
St. Pius has two other girls who will play in college next season -- Emily Cox at Alabama and Veronica Romero at Emory.
The Golden Lions boys team, the top-ranked team in any classification in Georgia and No. 3 nationally in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America rankings, beat Riverwood 3-1 for the region title. It was the 10th consecutive victory for St. Pius (15-0-1) since a 2-2 tie against Class AAAAA No. 5 Greenbrier on March 13.
Girls
Second-year Cobb County school Allatoona, which went 2-11-1 last season, has clinched its first appearance in the state tournament. The Buccaneers will be the No. 4 seed from 7-AAAA after losing to Rome 4-3 on penalty kicks Tuesday night. Rome's Kelly Kozera had a goal in regulation, another in overtime and a successful penalty kick. ... Danielle Au's three goals helped North Gwinnett beat Northview 4-1 to win its second consecutive Region 7-AAAAA championship. ... Walker, which moved to No. 1 in Class AA/A this week, had its nine-game winning streak broken with a 3-0 loss Wednesday to Starr's Mill, the No. 2 team in Class AAAA. Walker had outscored its opponents 57-2 during an 11-game stretch in which it was 10-0-1.
Boys
Sixth-ranked Dacula, which earlier this season clinched its first region championship, completed an undefeated season in region play with a 4-0 victory against Parkview on Wednesday. Luis Huertas scored twice for the Falcons, who have won 12 consecutive games after starting the season 2-3. ... Landmark Christian captured its first area championship and completed a 12-1 regular season with a 1-0 victory (3-2 on penalty kicks) against Our Lady of Mercy on Tuesday. ... Georgia has six teams among the top 21 in the most recent ESPN Rise Fab 50 national rankings. St. Pius leads the way at No. 8 and is joined in the poll by No. 15 Northview, No. 17 Greenbrier, No. 18 McIntosh, No. 20 Lassiter and No. 21 Collins Hill.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
