Elite 8 wall finally falls down for Houston County Bears soccer
When Houston County High boys soccer usually met that impenetrable wall known as the Elite 8, the Bears were playing at home and saw an out-of-town visitor celebrate a chance to further pursue the GHSA championship.
The hurdle for this program is finally cleared.
Region championships are great for Houston County – five in a row – but this is where the Bears wanted to be all season. For the first time ever, Houston is in the state semifinals, and as always the Bears find themselves in the favorable portion of the playoff bracket.
That means on Wednesday (today), Starr’s Mill High of Fayetteville is going to be in Warner Robins with the spot in the AAAAA finals on the line. Starr’s Mill, which finished second to unbeaten McIntosh in Region 4-AAAAA is coming off back-to-back 1-0 wins against Glynn Academy and Allatoona.
Houston County’s historic Elite 8 victory – the 21st of the season against no losses – took place Saturday at home against Clarke Central High of Athens and Region 8. Andrew Weber scored in the opening minute of play and the Gladiators never recovered, falling 3-1.
When Drew Behrman did a routine throw-in from the spectator side, Weber took it and moved all the way in the box for what amounted to a practice shot. The keeper from Clarke Central never budged only to watch the ball roll in good. Just 48 seconds elapsed and the Bears were on top 1-0.
That served to perk up all of the Bears as in two more pushes towards the goal they didn’t waste any passes or time in taking shots. Will Pospisil and Ezequiel Morales defended Clarke Central’s first penetration.
The first foul of the match went against Houston (34:30) for a 50-yard Gladiator free kick. Dylan Krimmer at sweeper did all kinds of work to make the visitors settle for a corner kick. When the next foul was called on the Bears, Clarke Central had a 30-yard kick (33:20), and goalkeeper Bryce Dawson caught the ball off a Gladiator head.
Over the next few minutes, Clarke Central stayed on the attack, but had no answer for Dawson. He made a sliding grab and stopped a 22-yard send-in from the left angle.
Braden Anderson played both up front and on the defensive line. When he was defending, he ran with the Gladiators on a break that forced a corner kick. Anderson cleared that ball with his head at 23:02, and about 30 seconds later Dawson denied the visitors another chance to tie the match.
Dawson stopped a corner kick out of the air at 18:01.
The teams played even soccer for more than 10 minutes, Clarke Central finally getting close on a 45-yard free kick caught by Dawson at 7:03. The Gladiator keeper turned in a good play before that on a side kick by Everick Little.
With five minutes still on the clock, there was a good save on a Weber shot from a Behrman pass. Down to 3:41, Clarke Central put the best combination of passes it did all half, but Dawson blocked the shot for a corner. Little cleared that ball away.
Coach Jason Kirk must have told his players to make sure Steven Moore, the sophomore forward, got the ball at every possible chance in the middle of the field. But before anything else happened in the second half, the Gladiator keeper showed a better reaction to Weber’s first-minute shot, saving the 24-yard blast.
Moore first took a pass on the run from Anderson only to see his shot smothered at 38:45. Colin Little, Pospisil, Everick Little and Jonathan Scruggs continually kept the ball going towards the Gladiator net.
That was the case for 10 minutes of the half until Clarke Central pushed the ball the other way and earned a free kick of 25 yards. E. Little headed the ball up and then defended the visiting attack at the baseline for a goal kick.
The ball went from Scruggs to Moore to Anderson, the charge resulting in a corner kick. Behrman claimed the ball for an angle shot saved on the grass.
At 28:04, Moore broke loose to get a loose ball only to miss wide. Justin Little, Everick’s freshman brother, and Pospisil keyed Houston’s next defensive stand. Scruggs cleared out Clarke Central’s free kick at 24:35. When the visitors had a corner at the 22-minute mark, E. Little and Behrman worked to clear it away from Dawson.
Dawson did have to make an ensuing save, though, with help from C. Little’s defensive work.
The Gladiators received two yellow cards in the first 20 minutes. Justin Little moved up to a wing spot in his reserve role, and his work would pay off when he received long lead passes.
At 14:27, E. Little sent the ball in from the opposite half. Moore took it and played it off a Clarke Central defender. On the rebound, Moore found J. Little open on the right. The freshman scored making it 2-0.
Krimmer and Will Cowart actually played the wings some with Moore in the middle. This combination was in the box at 9:30, and it took a non-goalie save to prevent a three-goal advantage.
The remaining eight minutes proved to be entertaining as the Gladiators scored on a penalty kick at 7:40. Houston got that goal back when the visiting keeper earned a red card for using his hands on the ball outside his box.
Moore set up for what was essentially a penalty kick, but really a free kick at the spot of the foul. From 20 yards away he scored.
Dawson’s final significant save was on a 20-yard free kick at 2:31. The back-up keeper for Clarke Central saved Weber’s final bid with 11 seconds to play.
Wyatt gives Veterans defense only point needed for 12th SO
To say that Veterans High’s historic win for girls soccer in the county was all about one shot and one goal would be grossly understating all that happened Friday on the Lady Warhawk home field.
Yes, Myranda Wyatt provided all the offense Veterans High would need in a 1-0 GHSA AAAA Elite 8 win against River Ridge High. This match, however, was more won on the side where Erin Harbison plays goalkeeper and a host of other Lady Warhawks protected the net for head coach Whitney Wallis.
River Ridge High, Region 7 runner-up, visited Veterans Friday from Woodstock with a 13-6 record, only five of the wins coming against clubs with winning records (including the previous two in the playoffs). The Lady Knights were unable, however, to not only end the Lady Warhawk winning streak – improved to 12 in a row – but also put any kind of point on the scoreboard playing the Veterans defense.
This time, the 12th straight shutout wasn’t about simply controlling the soccer ball for 80 full minutes, taking one shot after another, and giving the defense hardly any work at all. Jada Foor, Anna Jeffords and Erin Aler were busy all match long on the back line.
River Ridge was in fact the first team to attack inside of three minutes into regulation. With Foor marking on the ball, the visitors’ shot hit the top out-of-bounds bars on the goal.
Just a few minutes afterwards, Jeffords put up a solid defensive stand at one of the top corners on the penalty box.
It wasn’t until 31:25 that Khayla Owens, Veterans’ most dangerous offensive weapon, made a direct run at River Ridge’s goal only to find a stiff challenge in the box.
Foor and her powerful leg provided the tensest moments for the Lady Knight’s net-minder. From her sweeper position, she got a head on a strong lead River Ridge made from midfield. But fouls on the Lady Knights meant free kicks for Veterans, and that’s where Foor stood out.
Owens drew the foul at 28:15 at midfield. Foor took the free kick that went straight into the keeper’s awaiting arms. Her next try was at 25:20 when Sierra Gomez, midfielder, was looking to win a punt. From about 45 yards away, Foor’s blast turned into a headshot inside that also found the keeper’s grasp.
Momentum was on Veterans’ side, and Owens used a foot stop on the ball to send in a 22-yard shot saved (23:53). Just a minute later Jeffords’ aggressive defense in the corner drew a yellow card for River Ridge.
The Lady Knights knew to be wary of Owens as they were on her for a big ball-foot collision at 18:30. For all the attacks – like Shelby King’s header from a Foor 50-yard free kick – Veterans didn’t have a corner kick until there were 14 minutes left in the half. Jeffords settled the ball outside for a lead pass to Owens, but her header missed.
It was also at the point of the match where Wallis made her substitutions for fresh players on the offensive end. Wyatt was one of those reserves, and she hit the field running. River Ridge had a bad pass on its defensive half, and Wyatt was all over it for a one-on-one charge that was saved (12:23).
Mahalia Laguines, another fresh Lady Warhawk, won the ball by the bench sideline. She passed off to Wyatt, who got her team another corner kick at 7:20.
To break the deadlock, one final newcomer, Sarah Lucas, pass the ball outside to Wyatt. Her crossing shot sailed up and in (3:19) for the game-deciding goal.
Final defensive stands before halftime went to Jeffords and senior midfielder Aspen Coggins, who blocked a ball and sent Wyatt on the run for another Veterans corner kick (1:40).
The second half further belonged to Harbison and the Lady Warhawk defense. She had her first save of the 40-minute period when River Ridge claimed a 50-50 at 36:39. She leapt to catch the Lady Knights’ first corner kick right at the line (33:50).
Veterans still took its cracks at a bigger lead as King raced to stop a ball in a corner and send in a crossing pass. Laguines was there but missed high at the 28-minute mark.
Otherwise, it looked as if the Lady Warhawks played two, three or even four defenders for every one River Ridge striker. In a five-minute span River Ridge was taking shots with no purpose, and then with 23 minutes to play the ball was on the other end for a Veterans corner. They played the kick out to Foor, whose ball skipped off Lady Knight feet only to be saved.
Down to the final 14 minutes, River Ridge earned a corner kick. Harbison had the ball, lost control, but the Lady Knights were unable to capitalize.
More Harbison highlights saw her handle a bouncing ball at 11:45 and – as Taylor Craig and Gomez were all over the offensive work – save a hard blast at 10:46 with other Lady Knights waiting for a play in the box.
River Ridge’s keeper also absorbed some contact at the eight-minute mark while playing a 40-yarder from Foor. Three minutes later Laguines and Craig cleared a Lady Knight free kick, and for the final two minutes Aler, Coggins, Craig and Foor blocked balls, stole away passes and sealed Veterans’ path to the state semifinals.
This is the first Final Four bid for any county team in girls soccer, and it was a rematch with Columbus High (Region 5), the last team to beat Veterans on March 5. The first match was at Veterans; the rematch took place at Perry High’s Herb St. John Stadium.
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