Lassiter and Fellowship Christian became the first two reigning state champions to be eliminated from this year’s girls soccer state playoffs when they were knocked out Tuesday in second-round games.
Lassiter, ranked No. 4 in Class AAAAAAA by Eurosport and the 2016 champion in the highest classification, lost to eighth-ranked Grayson in a battle of the past two AAAAAA champions. Grayson got first-half unassisted goals from Brittany Montgomery and Mirela Vojnikovic, and goalkeeper Brianna Tello recorded the shutout.
“We knew they were going to put up a fight, and so for us to be able to jump out – outstanding job by Brittany and Mirela to get those two quick goals – that really gave us the confidence we needed to play our game,” Grayson coach Rebekah Bullock told Michael Allen of the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Grayson will host Milton in the quarterfinals.
Sixth-ranked Fellowship Christian, the defending Class A champion, lost 4-3 to Athens Academy, the No. 1 seed from Area 3. Athens Academy scored two goals in the game’s first five minutes and led 3-1 in the first half, but Fellowship Christian eventually pulled even. Maddie McCleary scored the game-winner, her second goal of the night, with 16:53 to play on an assist from Celeste Covington.
Athens Academy advanced to play at Holy Innocents’ in the third round.
Two other reigning state champions moved easily into to the third round. McIntosh beat Chamblee 6-0 in Class AAAAA and will face Grady in the quarterfinals, and defending AAA champion Westminster recorded its second consecutive 10-0 playoff victory, beating Islands to set up a matchup on the road against Pike County.
Two other defending state champions, St. Pius and Lovett, will play their second-round matches on Wednesday. Class AAAA St. Pius takes on Mary Persons at 5:30 p.m., and Lovett will travel to Worth County for a 6 p.m. game in AAA. Lovett won the Class AA title last season.
Here are some of the other top stories from the second round.
*Other games of note: Fifth-ranked Walton overcame an early 1-0 deficit to beat No. 3 Peachtree Ridge 2-1 in a matchup of top-five teams in AAAAAAA. Walton’s Hannah Casey had a first-half goal, and Keeley Bond scored the game-winner midway through the second half. … Class AAAAAA Lee County outscored third-ranked Alpharetta 6-4 on penalty kicks after the teams were tied 1-1 at the end of overtime. The victory put the Trojans in the quarterfinals for the second time in school history. … Two of the top four teams in Class AAAA squared off in the second round, and No. 3 Blessed Trinity came away with a 2-1 victory over No. 4 Columbus. The Titans will face St. Pius or Mary Persons in the third round.
*Almost perfect: The one bracket that has held most true to form has been Class AA, which had seven of the eight No. 1 seeds advanced through to the third round. Region champions Fitzgerald (Region 1), St. Vincent’s (2), East Laurens (3), Harlem (4), Lamar County (5), Model (7) and Social Circle (8) will be joined in the final eight by Glenn Hills, the No. 2 seed from Region 4. Glenn Hills advanced with a 3-0 victory over Putnam County, which defeated Region 6 champion South Atlanta in the first round.
*Still standing: Eight No. 3 seeds and five No. 4 seeds will be among the 56 teams playing in the quarterfinals later this week. The remaining No. 3 seeds are Mill Creek and Milton in AAAAAAA, Pope in AAAAAA, Starr’s Mill in AAAAA, Jefferson in AAAA, Bremen in AAA, and Calvary Day and Mount Pisgah Christian in Class A. Lovett would make it nine No. 3 seeds left if it wins on Wednesday. The remaining No. 4 seeds are Cambridge and Creekview in Class AAAAAA, Oconee County in AAAA, Adairsville in AAA, and Pinecrest Academy in Class A.
*Scoreboard: Here are the second-round scores and third-round matchups for all seven classifications.
Class AAAAAAA
Second-round scores
Walton 2, Peachtree Ridge 1
Lambert 7, Kennesaw Mountain 0
Mill Creek 4, Etowah 0
Brookwood 6, Marietta 0
Grayson 2, Lassiter 0
Milton 5, North Paulding 0
Collins Hill 5, Roswell 1
South Forsyth 3, Hillgrove 0
Third-round games
(R4 #1) Walton vs. (R5 #1) Lambert
(R6 #3) Mill Creek at (R7 #1) Brookwood
(R5 #3) Milton at (R8 #1) Grayson
(R5 #2) South Forsyth at (R6 #1) Collins Hill
Class AAAAAA
Second-round scores
Sequoyah 10, Tucker 0
Cambridge 2, Lakeside-Evans 1
Richmond Hill 3, Allatoona 2
Johns Creek 4, Greenbrier 0
Creekview 4, Glynn Academy 2
Lee County 2, Alpharetta 1
Harrison 8, Effingham County 0
Pope 3, Heritage-Catoosa 1
Third-round games
(R7 #4) Cambridge at (R6 #2) Sequoyah
(R7 #1) Johns Creek at (R2 #1) Richmond Hill
(R6 #4) Creekview at (R1 #1) Lee County
(R7 #3) Pope at (R6 #1) Harrison
Class AAAAA
Second-round scores
Grady 1, Eagle’s Landing 0
McIntosh 6, Chamblee 0
Flowery Branch 9, Dutchtown 0
Starr’s Mill 2, Paulding County 0
Buford 10, Locust Grove 0
Veterans 9, Rome 1
Decatur 4, Union Grove 0
Whitewater 2, Carrollton 1
Third-round games
(R6 #2) Grady vs. (R3 #2) McIntosh
(R3 #3) Starr’s Mill at (R8 #2) Flowery Branch
(R8 #1) Buford at (R1 #1) Veterans
(R6 #1) Decatur at (R3 #1) Whitewater
Class AAAA
Second-round scores
Jefferson 3, Woodward Academy 0
LaGrange 6, Cairo 0
Spalding 1, North Oconee 0
Marist 9, Northside-Columbus 0
(R2 #2) Mary Persons at (R8 #1) St. Pius, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday
Blessed Trinity 2, Columbus 0
Oconee County 6, Howard 0
Chapel Hill 8, Richmond Academy 0
Third-round games
(R8 #3) Jefferson at (R5 #1) LaGrange
(R2 #1) Spalding at (R7 #1) Marist
(R7 #2) Blessed Trinity vs. Mary Persons/St. Pius winner
(R8 #4) Oconee County at (R5 #2) Chapel Hill
Class AAA
Second-round scores
Pike County 1, Sonoraville 0
Westminster 10, Islands 0
Bremen 3, Pierce County 2
Greater Atlanta Christian 4, Southeast Bulloch 0
Adairsville 1, Long County 0
(R5 #3) Lovett at (R1 #1) Worth County, 6 p.m. Wednesday
Calhoun 2, Peach County 0
Pace Academy 5, Savannah Arts 0
Third-round games
(R5 #1) Westminster at (R4 #1) Pike County
(R6 #3) Bremen at (R7 #1) Greater Atlanta Christian
(R6 #4) Adairsville at Lovett/Worth County winner
(R5 #2) Pace Academy at (R6 #1) Calhoun
Class AA
Second-round scores
Harlem 6, Elbert County 3
Lamar County 4, Berrien 1
St. Vincent’s 10, Oglethorpe County 0
Model 5, Thomasville 2
Social Circle 2, Vidalia 0
Fitzgerald 6, Dade County 2
Glenn Hills 3, Putnam County 0
East Laurens 4, Callaway 1
Third-round games
(R5 #1) Lamar County at (R4 #1) Harlem
(R7 #1) Model at (R2 #1) St. Vincent’s
(R1 #1) Fitzgerald at (R8 #1) Social Circle
(R4 #2) Glenn Hills at (R3 #1) East Laurens
Class A
Second-round scores
Paideia 3, Atlanta International 1
Calvary Day 2, Walker 1
First Presbyterian 3, Lakeview Academy 0
Pinecrest Academy 3, Savannah Christian 1
Wesleyan 5, Stratford Academy 0
Mount Pisgah Christian 5, Savannah Country Day 0
Holy Innocents’ 6, Eagle’s Landing Christian 2
Athens Academy 4, Fellowship Christian 3
Third-round games
(A1 #3) Calvary Day at (A6 #2) Paideia
(A5 #4) Pinecrest Academy at (A2 #1) First Presbyterian
(A5 #3) Mount Pisgah Christian at (A8 #1) Wesleyan
(A3 #1) Athens Academy at (A6 #1) Holy Innocents’
