Adairsville teams secure state playoff berths; Woodland teams sweep Hiram, Cass boys edge Calhoun
Both Adairsville High School soccer teams secured Class AAA state playoff berths Friday night with victories at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe.
The Cass boys won a thrilling penalty kicks shootout over Calhoun and both Woodland teams took care of business against region foe Hiram.
ADAIRSVILLE GIRLS 2, LAKEVIEW-FORT OGLETHORPE 1
A pair of goals by Lizzie LeMay in the second half lifted the Lady Tigers to a 2-1 win Friday night at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe.
The Region 6-AAA victory secured a No. 3-seed for the Adairsville girls in the Class AAA state playoffs. The Lady Tigers will play their first round game at the No. 2-seed from Region 5-AAA. (to be determined).
LeMay’s goals Friday night came within five minutes of one another.
In the 54th minute she scored off a deflection from a LFO defender. In the 59th minute, her go-ahead goal came from her carry from the corner and a shot from the top right corner of the box.
“Our passing tonight was solid. It led us to controlling play the majority of the time,” said Lady Tigers’ head coach David Sexauer. “Jacksyn Elrod was a “powerhouse” on the field tonight. She was always in the right spot and won a majority of her one-on-one’s. She did a good job of carrying and feeding the ball up the field to our strikers.”
The Lady Tigers (9-5, 4-2) will celebrate their 2023 seniors next Thursday in a non-region home game against Mt. Zion-Carroll.
ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 5, LAKEVIEW-FORT OGLETHORPE 4
The Tigers secured a state playoff berth Friday night with a 5-4 win at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe.
Jesus Banuelos scored a pair of goals in the Adairsville victory. JJ Grimaldo, William Martinez, and Blade Benefield added the other Tigers' goals. Grimaldo assisted on a pair of scores. John Mark Shepard contributed one assist while Benefield and Martinez also added one assist each.
Adairsville (6-8, 3-3) qualifies for the Class AAA state playoffs as the region’s No. 4-seed. The Tigers will play at the Region 5-AAA champion -- Sandy Creek -- in the first round of the playoffs on April 12.
The playoff appearance will be a first for the Tigers’ program.
CASS BOYS 2, CALHOUN 1 (Cass 5-4 PKs)
The Cass boys won a thrilling penalty kicks shootout over visiting Calhoun Friday night to move into a second place tie with Woodland in Region 7-5A. The two Bartow County rivals trail Dalton — unbeaten in region play — in the standings.
The Colonels and Yellow Jackets battled in regulation to a 1-1 tie and completed a pair of overtime periods still knotted a 1-1 before settling the contest in a penalty kicks shootout.
Cass grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute to hold a 1-0 advantage at the intermission. Christian Viella finished off the goal off an assist from Camden Hillhouse. The score stayed that way until the 77th minute when Calhoun scored an equalizer.
In the penalty kick shootout, all five Cass attempts were successful while Calhoun failed on their third attempt.
Alex Hernandez, Viella, Kayden Pineda, Irwin Vasquez, and Hillhouse were all successful during the shootout.
Cass (7-7, 3-1) returns to action next Thursday at Woodland with the possibility of a state playoffs home match on the line.
CALHOUN 8, CASS GIRLS 0
The Cass girls were shutout at home Friday night by visiting Calhoun, 8-0.
The Yellow Jackets improved to 9-3 overall and 4-1 in Region 7-5A.
Cass (2-11, 0-3) plays at region-leading Dalton Tuesday night.
WOODLAND GIRLS 3, HIRAM 1
The Woodland girls scored twice in the second half Friday night defeat visiting Hiram 3-1 in Region 7-5A soccer action.
Hiram scored in the 25th minute to take a 1-0 lead but the Lady Cats scored the equalizing goal five minutes later. Carlie Forman scored for Woodland off an assist from Reagan “Dutch” Weightman.
Woodland took control in the second half with a pair of goals from Weightman. Both Lady Cats’ goals were assisted by Brionna Carver.
Freshman goalkeeper Peyton Keller made ten saves in the victory.
The loss drops the Lady Hornets to 4-9-1 overall and 1-3 in Region 7-5A.
Woodland (2-6-1, 1-2) returns to the pitch Monday night at 5:30 p.m. at Cartersville.
WOODLAND BOYS 9, HIRAM 1
The Wildcats overpowered visiting Hiram Friday night in a Region 7-5A matchup, 9-1.
The loss dropped the Hornets to 2-12 overall and 0-4 in region action.
Woodland (5-3-1, 2-1) plays at Cartersville Monday night at 7:30 p.m. and will host Cass next Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
DALTON 6, CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 0
The Lady Catamounts scored three goals in each half Friday night on their way to a 6-0 Region 7-5A win over visiting Cartersville.
The Dalton girls improved to 10-5-1 on the season and 4-0 in Region 7-5A.
The Lady Canes (4-7-1, 2-2) return to the pitch Monday night at home to host Woodland.
DALTON 8, CARTERSVILLE BOYS 0
The Region 7-5A leading Catamounts blanked visiting Cartersville Friday night, 8-0.
Dalton improved to 14-2 overall and 4-0 in Region 7-5A.
Cartersville (5-5-2, 2-2) looks to bounce back Monday night at home against Woodland.
