Soccer Roundup: Perry girls only GHSA team in Houston County to advance, Westfield girls still working for postseason berth

The soccer postseason in Houston County is coming to a faster-than-usual end, as six of their seven teams fell in the opening round of the GHSA state tournament.

Here’s a roundup of last week’s soccer:

Houston County

Boys

Houston County was one of two teams to go on the road in the first round, and they fell to River Ridge 4-0.

Round one has been a big barrier for the Bears, who have now lost in it for the seventh consecutive year.

HoCo ends their season with an 11-6 overall record, a 6-4 record and third place finish in Region 2-5A and a first round appearance.

Girls

The Lady Bears also fell in the first round, 1-0 to visiting Creekview out of Canton, Georgia.

The Grizzlies controlled possession and kept HoCo on their heels the entire game. Though they failed to finish in the final third, Presley McDermott broke the stalemate with a header during a corner kick.

The Lady Bears defended the other set pieces well, but with no consistent attack they fell as the buzzer sounded.

HoCo ends their season with a 12-4 overall record, a 10-0 record and championship in Region 2-5A and a first round appearance.

Perry

Boys

Perry’s season came to a tragic end last week in a miraculous comeback by the visiting Eastside Eagles.

Carson Camp’s miracle shot from the middle of the pitch put the Panthers up 3-2, and with four minutes left their victory was all but sure.

But in those remaining 240 seconds the Eagles stunned Perry with two goals those players will remember for a long time, lifting them to a 4-3 victory.

Perry ends their season with a 10-9 overall record, an 8-2 record and back-to-back region championships in Region 1-4A and a first round appearance.

Girls

The Lady Panthers (12-5) were the only Houston County team in the GHSA to advance past round one.

Their 3-0 final score put away Eastside after a shaky start. Head coach Nathan Dooley moved Ansley Parker to center back to solidify the defense and Perry did just enough on offense to get a couple of looks through the net.

Perry will host Pace Academy (10-8, 5-2 Region 4-4A) in the second round on April 30. At the time of writing (April 27) the time is not set.

Veterans

Boys

Veterans was blitzed by Pope early, and that was enough to end their season in a 3-0 loss in round one.

The Greyhounds’ Otis Hearn scored his first of three goals within the first minute of the game and the Warhawks had no response. By the time they adjusted in the second half, they ran out of gas and weren’t able to capitalize.

Veterans ends their season with a 14-5 overall record, an 8-2 record and second place finish in Region 2-5A and a first round appearance.

Girls

The Lady Warhawks’ postseason met an abrupt end last week in a 10-0 loss to Pope.

The Lady Greyhounds controlled every aspect of the game and Veterans had no response.

The Lady Warhawks end their season with a 12-8 overall record, an 8-2 record and second place finish in Region 2-5A and a first round appearance.

Warner Robins

Girls

The Demonettes’ season ended last week at the hands of Walnut Grove in a 10-1 final.

This is the second consecutive year they’ve lost in the first round, but also the second they’ve made the postseason after a three-year drought.

Warner Robins ends their season with an 8-6 overall record, a 3-4 record and third place finish in Region 1-4A and a first round appearance.

Westfield

Girls

The Lady Hornets (6-8, 2-6 GIAA District 5-4A/3A) picked up a big win last week as they aim to inch into the playoff race.

They started their week with a 9-3 loss to Terrell Academy but turned around and beat Byne Christian 9-0 for their second win in three games.

Westfield is sitting on the edge of a postseason berth, ranked ninth in the MaxPreps rankings, and have one more game against Brookwood (ranked second in GIAA 3A). The game is at home on April 27 at 5 p.m. and is a must win to potentially move up to eighth and enter the postseason bracket.