Friday soccer quarterfinals recaps

By Stephen Black and Craig Sager II

The girls soccer playoffs were narrowed down to Final Fours tonight as multiple metro Atlanta programs advanced. Two local boys programs also made the step into the semis a day before the majority of the boys games are played.

See our recaps below to read about the state soccer quarterfinals.

Girls

Class AAAAAA

Brookwood 4, Lowndes 1: Jenny Allen got Brookwood on the board in the first half, and the Broncos trotted away in the second. Allen gave Brookwood a 1-0 edge at the half before Kim Fincher, Shannon Maloney and Fiorella Gamarra scored in the second. Lowndes’ Ashley Miller tied the game at one 15 seconds into the second half.

Harrison 2, Lassiter 0: The Hoyas overcame an ejection and penalty shot to advance to the semifinals. With the game tied at zero, junior Savannah Vanderbeck scored on an assist by Hannah Ostman with 25 minutes remaining in the game. Lassiter drew a penalty kick and a Harrison player was ejected with 15 minutes left, but the Trojans clanged the kick off the post. Harrison freshman Treva Aycock scored with 10 minutes remaining to clinch the Hoyas’ victory. Goalie Allison Leone, a junior, kept the clean sheet for Harrison.

Parkview 4, Tift County 0: The Panthers scored on a goal from Elizabeth Quintanilla eight minutes into the match and led 2-0 at the break. Sophomore Kristin Telford scored twice for Parkview and Morgan Fleming also found the back of the net. Mariah Garner and Megan Wiley combined on the shutout for the Panthers.

South Forsyth 6, Hillgrove 3: Visiting South Forsyth built on its 3-1 halftime lead with a 4-goal performance from Rachel Shah. The striker scored the first of her three second-half goals just 18 seconds into the half. Shah added two more, completing the second-half hat trick and giving the War Eagles a comfortable 6-1 lead before the Hawks cut it in half.

Class AAAAA

Northgate 1, Pope 0: A first-half goal by Northgate’s Cara Rhoad turned out to be the game-winner. Rhoad’s goal was unassisted after a corner kick turned into a loose ball in front of the Greyhounds’ net. Mattea Lewis kept the clean sheet in goal for Northgate.

Class AAAA

Marist 9, Locust Grove 0: Visiting Marist led 7-0 at the half after getting on the board two minutes in on a strike by sophomore Kelsey Carrier. Junior Stephanie Krouskos scores three times and freshman Katie MacGinnitie scored twice for Marist. Clara Gastaldi had three assists and Frances Monardo had two. Carlin Zaprowski and Anna Bourbonnais split time in goal for the War Eagles.

Veterans 1, River Ridge 0: Host Veterans scored the lone goal the first half off a Myranda Wyatt strike. In the 37th minute, Sarah Lucas found Wyatt, who knocked in the game’s only goal. Warhawks goalkeeper Erin Harbison staved off a barrage of desperation shots in the final 15 minutes to secure the shutout.

Class AAA

Blessed Trinity 7, Central-Carroll 0: Grace Damaska scored twice and three other Titans also found the back of the net as visiting Blessed Trinity rolled into the semifinals. Damaska, a Georgetown signee, drew first blood 25 minutes into the match. The Titans led 4-0 at the half.

Buford 5, Savannah Arts 0: Caitlyn Dawkins scored first for visiting Buford and freshman Brie Smith struck next to take the Wolves into halftime with a 2-0 advantage. Freshman Elexa Bahr added two goals in the second half and Melissa Sullivan added another. Buford goalkeeper Lane Crawford had five saves in the shutout win.

St. Pius 5, Chapel Hill 1: The Golden Lions had five different players score in their quarterfinals rout. Junior Amanda Vocelka got visiting St. Pius on the board five minutes into the game, but Chapel Hill countered on a penalty kick five minutes later. But the Golden Lions roared back with three goals before the half to take a 4-1 lead into intermission. Vocelka had three assists while Tiffany Rodriguez, Caroline Wootten, Kaitlyn Orman and Melissa Pagaoga also found the back of the net for St. Pius. Senior Hannah Smith manned the goal all game for the Golden Lions.

Woodward Academy 1, Pike County 0: Visiting Woodward Academy stifled Pike County’s offense as War Eagles goalkeeper Morgan Beans earned the shutout. Bailey Heywood scored the lone goal in the first half on an unassisted strike from more than 35 yards out.

Class AA

Greater Atlanta Christian 10, Putnam County 0: The visiting Spartans had eight goal scorers including senior Rachel Garcia, who struck three times. Garcia opened the scoring just 54 seconds into the game. GAC led 5-0 at the half and the game was called with 12 minutes remaining due to the mercy rule. Senior Liz White and freshman Melissa Gray combined on the shutout.

Lovett 3, St. Vincent’s 0: Grace Jackson scored to give the visiting Lions a 1-0 halftime lead on a assist by Rebecca Schoen in the 20th minute. In the second half, freshman Megan Kring found the back of the net in the 43rd minute, then Clara Easterlin put the game out of reach with a volley in the 58th minute off a cross by Jackson. Goalie Kathleen Connell had five saves and kept a clean sheet for Lovett.

Wesleyan 2, Vidalia 1 (PKs): Host Vidalia took a 1-0 lead into the half after an Ali Waller goal. Wesleyan’s Maddie Hall found Christina Moraitis on a cross to force overtime. The two teams went scoreless in the extra session, forcing penalty kicks. Vivian McCoy had seven saves for the Wolves including a key stop during the shootout, which Wesleyan won 3-2. Beck Coxhead and Moraitis each found the net, and sophomore Hope Morgan kicked in the game-winner.

Class A

Fellowship Christian 2, Hebron Christian 1 (OT): Visiting Fellowship Christian took a 1-0 lead into the half on a goal by Megan Hudgens, but Hebron Christian scored the equalizer in the second half to force overtime. In the first five-minute overtime period, Hudgens returned to the net with the game-winning goal at the three-minute mark. Anna Soderlund goaltended in the win for the Paladins.

Paideia 3, Holy Innocents’ 1: Freshman Kendall Parks and senior Megan Hermann each scored in the first half as visiting Paideia led 2-0 at the break. Holy Innocents’ cut the lead in half 15 minutes into the final half. But with five minutes remaining, Parks struck again to put the game out of reach. Sophomore keeper Alex Clark made several saves to preserve the lead in the second half.

Boys

Class AAA

St. Pius 10, Chapel Hill 0: Visiting St. Pius had seven different goal-scorers, including Sam Bonnie, who scored the first goal 10 minutes into the match, and Tyler Alexander, who found the net three times. Alex Kowalski scored twice for St. Pius. Goalies Matthew Raines and Ryan Beck combined on the shutout for the Golden Lions. The game was called with 20 minutes remaining due to the mercy rule.

Woodward Academy 2, Islands 1: Host Islands led 1-0 at the half, but Woodward Academy responded with a goal in the 10th minute of the second half by Nolan Hall to even things up. Hall was assisted by John Hopkins. With 26 minutes remaining, Chris Kendall scored the go-ahead goal off a pass from Josh Cohen. War Eagles goalkeeper Matthew Reynolds made sure Woodward held onto the lead.