Lakeside girls take semifinal from Houston

Two goals from Brittany Greene were not enough to propel the Houston County High girls soccer team into the Region 2-AAAAA championship match.

As the first place team of its sub-region, the Lady Bears of coach Sid Baxley were able to host Lakeside High of Evans in Thursday’s semifinal. Houston’s girls destroyed Grovetown High Tuesday in the opening round 10-0 (the sixth time scoring in double figures this season. That put the program in the state tournament field, extending a decade-plus streak.

The Lakeside Panthers, a 10-2-1 team coming in with six double digit scoring contests of their own and 1-0 win to their credit over rival Greenbrier High, broke a 2-2 tie Thursday with just under 10 minutes to go in regulation to win 3-2. After also ending the Warner Robins High season 7-0 at home on Tuesday, the Lady Panthers will play either Evans High or Greenbrier for the region title next week.

Houston County takes on the other team in that pairing for third place.

Playing the match on Thursday allowed these two teams to avoid any potential weather issues in Warner Robins on Friday.

It was Houston goalkeeper Brook Neville making the match’s first save just over two minutes into the action. She handled a Lakeside shot taken from 20 yards away.

Several of the Lady Bears were heavily involved in defending the Lady Panthers, and Hanna Wilkes turned in two plays one after the other as Lakeside-Evans charged the ball down the left sideline at 35:40. Just 30 seconds later the visitors moved the ball in line with the goal, also about 20 yards away, for a sidewinder shot saved by Neville.

The third save for Houston’s keeper wasn’t far away, about a minute and a half, and was eased by good defense from a freshman, Lainey Choiniere, and Kaylee Bromell.

At 27:32, Greene put the Lady Bears ahead 1-0.

The Lady Panthers saved that effort and proceeded to make its next push. Sydney Humphrey’s defense gave Lakeside a corner kick. The ball was placed at the right post. It may have been a tying goal if not for Bromell’s effort to clear it away.

Greene found herself in another sprint at the 21-minute mark. Her crossing pass went to Upchurch at the top of the box for a shot just barley saved.

At 4:53 until halftime, Lakeside-Evans found the tying goal in a one-on-one situation that bounced in off the Houston defender. Kiara West, Wilkes and Upchurch disrupted a pair of Lakeside attempts to build on that scoring momentum just a minute after the kickoff. Neville also caught a 20-yard free kick at 3:45.

Now down 2-1, the Lady Bears never relented in their speed game, and Do sent in a rocket that missed from near the left corner (30:56). Preston found herself running after a Do lead, and with 28 minutes to play her cross to Greene led to a shot taken high.

Near the halfway mark of the second half, Choiniere, Bromell and Preston had the ball on the left, and Karissa Engram took a shot saved. Humphrey and Wilkes had key plays keeping the hosts within one goal, and at 15:42 Greene made up that deficit scoring her second off a pass from Engram in the box.

The Lady Panthers cleared another corner kick at the 13-minute mark when Greene made a lead pass to Johnson. It was fine passing around the tight Lady Bear defense – going from right to left – that set up Lakeside’s eventual winning goal (9:51).

Johnson had a potential tying point saved at 8:35, and Bromell took a 15-yarder at an angle saved at 6:27.

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