Ali Elkhalil scored two goals, including the game-winner with 28:33 remaining in the second half, to lead visiting Walton to a 2-1 victory over Collins Hill in the Class AAAAA boys soccer championship game on Saturday.
The victory gave longtime Walton coach Bucky Boozer his sixth state championship overall and his third in the past six seasons. Boozer, who has announced his retirement after working at the Cobb County school since 1985, also won titles in 1986, 1995, 2002, 2006 and 2008.
It also denied Collins Hill in its bid to win its third consecutive title. The Eagles lost to Walton in the final in 2008 before winning the past two championships. The loss also was the first in the postseason for Collins Hill coach Drew Prentice, whose teams are 9-1 in the playoffs in his two seasons at the Gwinnett County school.
Elkhalil’s second goal, early in the second half, broke a 1-1 tie. He took a long cross-field pass from his brother Jad Elkhalil on the right side of the net and blasted it past Collins Hill goalkeeper Jackson Taylor.
Collins Hill turned up the pressure in the final 20 minutes of the game and had a couple of chances to tie it, but Emmanuel Raji missed two shots and Eli Carrasco missed one, each just wide to the right of the net
Dominic Bonilla, one of two members of the team for all four of Collins Hill’s trips to the finals, gave the Eagles the early lead. He hit a hard shot from 25 yards out on the right side past Walton goalkeeper Alex McCauley and into the left side of the net with 8:44 remaining in the first half.
Walton responded quickly. Ali Elkhalil took a long pass down the right sideline, dribbled toward Taylor and hit a low shot under his arm to tie the game 1-1 with 3:41 to play in the half.
