Soccer Roundup: Perry’s Nathan Dooley wins 250th, Houston County girls narrowly hold on to region advantage

A big milestone and some exciting matchups filled the schedule last week as Houston County teams enter the final weeks of the regular season.

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

Houston County

Boys

Houston County (8-4, 5-3 Region 2-5A) further firmed their place in third with two region wins last week.

The Bears began their week with a 5-0 shutout against Northside to sweep the season series before also taking care of Thomas County Central, this time in regulation, 3-1.

Though it will require Veterans to lose a game on their own, HoCo will host the Warhawks on March 24 with hopes to move into second place. The Bears finish their week on March 26 at Coffee.

Girls

The Lady Bears (9-2, 8-0 Region 2-5A) narrowly held onto their undefeated region streak last week, but got it done nonetheless with two wins.

The first a 4-0 victory against Northside, their eighth straight shutout win. Thomas County Central made things more interesting, scoring the first goal against Houston County since Feb. 12, but the Lady Bears escaped by winning in overtime.

HoCo will “travel” to Veterans on March 24 and actually go on the road on March 26 against Coffee before spring break.

Northside

Boys

March 6 game against Thomas County Central remains unreported.

Northside (3-10, 1-8 Region 2-5A) was scoreless last week, losing both region games to Houston County and Lee County.

The Bears started the train with a 5-0 win at McConnell-Talbert Stadium and Lee County finished it in Leesburg with a 7-0 final.

Northside just has one region game this week, traveling to Thomas County Central on March 27 after heading up to Mary Persons on March 25.

Girls

The Lady Eagles (4-9, 2-6 Region 2-5A) had last week’s win interrupted with two more losses this week.

Houston County gave Northside their first shutout since Feb. 27 with a 4-0 final and the Lady Eagles suffered their second defeat of the week 6-1 in Leesburg to Lee County.

Northside will remain on the road, traveling to Mary Persons and Thomas County Central on March 25 and March 27 respectively.

Perry

Boys

Perry’s (6-6, 5-2 Region 1-4A) head coach Nathan Dooley won his 250th game after the boys beat New Hampstead last week 5-0, also their first shutout victory of the season.

The Panthers followed it with a 4-1 win against Ware County to maintain sole possession of second place, though they’ll hope to steal first place when they host Benedictine on March 24.

Perry heads up the road for their last game of the week, and before spring break, against Warner Robins on March 26.

Girls

The Lady Panthers (8-3, 6-0 Region 1-4A) are looking like they might run away with their sixth straight region championship after their fifth and sixth consecutive wins last week.

Only (roughly) 32 minutes of game time was played in their 10-0 victory against New Hampstead, head coach Nathan Dooley’s 249th win before the boys finished the milestone in the nightcap.

Though the game against Ware County went full it wasn’t much closer, a 7-1 final.

Perry will travel to Warner Robins, the lone 1-4A team with only one loss and the best with a chance to dethrone the Lady Panthers, on March 26.

Veterans

Boys

Veterans (11-3, 7-1 Region 2-5A) continued their recovery and maintained second place last week with a 5-3 region win against Coffee before traveling to face McIntosh in some weekend action.

The Warhawks lost to the Chiefs, who are ranked third in 5A and 39th nationally, 4-2.

Veterans will be the away team against Houston County on March 24 as they attempt to usurp the Warhawks’ second-place spot. Likewise Veterans hopes to break Lee County’s undefeated hold on the region at home on March 27.

Girls

The Lady Warhawks (9-5, 7-1 Region 2-5A) suffered their worst defeat of the season last week as they traveled up to 11th-ranked McIntosh, who beat them in an 11-1 final.

That marked a brief respite from region play after Veterans earned a 6-0 shutout against Coffee.

This week the Lady ‘Hawks hope to knock Houston County off their first-place pedestal on March 24. They will also host Lee County on March 27.

Warner Robins

Boys

Warner Robins (2-7, 1-4 Region 1-4A) hit a bump in the middle of their four-game road trip, losing their second and third straight games last week.

They started with a 4-2 final against Ware County before a shutout loss to first-place Benedictine, 5-0.

The Demons finish their trip on March 24 at Wayne County before hosting Perry on March 26.

Girls

The Demonettes (6-2, 2-1 Region 1-4A) are the only team remaining in the region with a chance to challenge Perry’s claim to the title, and they preserved those chances with a victory against Ware County last week.

The 3-2 final took Warner Robins overtime to earn, and they’ll have to beat Wayne County on March 24 to keep the one loss on their record, but March 26 is the first of two against the Lady Panthers.

Westfield

Girls

Westfield (3-3, 1-3 GIAA District 5-4A/3A) broke their three-game losing streak to end last week with a 10-0 domination of Windsor Academy in a non-district game.

That followed a third district loss, a 3-1 final at Strong Rock Christian, as the Lady Hornets search for their first district win since the opener against Calvary Christian.

They’ll host Strong Rock Christian on March 24 and travel to Central Fellowship Christian Academy on March 26 for a non-district game before spring break.