GREENE COUNTY
The Lake Oconee Academy girls soccer team has found a lot of momentum over the last month, and it comes at an ideal point in the season.
Even though the Lady Titans came up short in last Friday’s match against Aquinas High School, head coach Kourtney Kelley’s squad is still in a comfortable position with a first-round home game heading into the postseason.
A month ago, the Lady Titans lost their last three non-region games to tough opponents but responded with five straight wins once they entered region play. Over that five-game stretch, Lake Oconee Academy outscored its opponents 25-0, playing quality soccer on both ends of the field.
Against Greene and Washington-Wilkes, the team’s offense was able to constantly push up the pitch to create goal-scoring opportunities which were converted. Lake Oconee Academy scored 17 goals combined between the two matches.
During the matches against Georgia Military College Prep, Towns County and Lincoln County, the Lady Titans relied on a more defensive approach that allowed for the potential to counterattack. The Lady Titans capitalized on a few opportunities in each contest to come out on top.
Over the entire regular season, Lake Oconee Academy scored 44 goals and allowed 33 across its 17 games. Moving forward, the team hopes to continue to benefit from the balanced game plan Kelley has in place.
The last game against Aquinas reflected that, as it was back and forth the whole contest. The Fighting Irish came into the match undefeated and showed why with a gritty 1-0 win over the Lady Titans.
Regardless of the outcome of that game, the girls team (along with the boys) will play in the first round of the state playoffs at the beginning of next week.
The full bracket for Class A Division II is not yet complete, so the Lady Titans’ opponent is still to be determined; however, they’ll be excited for another chance to make a postseason run.