Lakeside-DeKalb was the only unbeaten girls soccer team in AAAAAA before dropping a 1-0 contest against Heritage-Conyers last week, but the Vikings remain one of the hottest teams in the classification heading into the state tournament next week.
Lakeside (12-1-2) opened the season with consecutive ties against Decatur (0-0) and Dunwoody (1-1) before winning its next 11 games, all of which came by shutout. The Vikings bounced back from the loss to Heritage with a 3-0 victory over Druid Hills on Tuesday.
“We have a very talented young team that is extremely coachable and hard working,” Lakeside coach Tim Newmyer said. “I love how they knock the ball around and make great decisions. We are poised to make a deep run into the playoffs and take each game as it comes. We had a setback with the loss to Heritage, which should get us refocused to the task at hand.”
Despite its lofty record, the Vikings remained outside the top 10 in the latest EurosportScoreboard.com rankings, perhaps in part because they play in a region whose teams have never won a state title. But Lakeside is no stranger to the postseason, reaching the playoffs for 16 consecutive season (including 2016) and winning at least one playoff game four of the past five years.
And the Vikings have dominated 2-AAAAAA this season, winning the title with a 10-0 record and not allowing a goal in region play for the second consecutive season. That has come with a young squad that has just four seniors on the roster and has had to overcome the loss of 2015 leading scorer Seyi Ojo to a knee injury.
Goalkeepers Miranda McNally and Kensy Kilgallen and defenders Megan Arogeti, Culzean Kennedy Kat Goebel and Samantha Collins lead a defense that has allowed just two goals. The leading scorer is Tyler Smith (21 goals and four assists), who is joined up top by Elena Preis and Sarah Garner. Emma Gray (headed to Presbyterian), Caroline Bowers and Lena Schaeffer are the midfielders.
Lakeside closes the regular season against Paideia at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Atlanta Silverbacks Park.
Follow the state tournament
Check back on this blog as the state tournament brackets are filled in, and then follow the action with a recap of the highlights each night throughout the tournament. The playoffs begin on April 27 for AAAAAA, AAAAA and AAAA and on April 29 for AAA, AA and A. The state championships will be held May 12-14 at Mercer University’s Five Star Stadium in Macon.
