The Greene County girls soccer team entered the GHSA Class A Division II playoffs as the third seed out of Area 6, and they certainly made the most of it.
The Lady Tigers took on the Lady Lions of Christian Heritage on April 11 and came out victorious with a final score of 2-0. The win not only marked the Lady Tigers’ second of the season, but it also marked the program’s first postseason victory since 2009.
Head coach Alicia Parker told the Lake Oconee News that this young group surprised her with all of the hard work they put in this season.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the girls this year. They have shown a lot of fortitude, resiliency and dedication to the sport,” Parker said. “They are a very young team with about three-quarters of the girls being underclassmen, so to accomplish what they have is just amazing. They’ve played sick, bruised and battered, but they always fought through it and never let anything get in the way of things they wanted to accomplish.”
In the win over the Lady Lions, Parker’s squad played balanced soccer the entire match.
At the end of the first 40 minutes, Greene County found itself up 1-0 going into the locker room. Parker’s squad continued to build their lead after putting another one into the back of the net halfway through the second half.
Not only did the Lady Tigers create chances on the offensive end, but they were also able to snuff out opportunities Heritage Christian had in their own half of the field.
Greene County goalkeeper Sher’vant Wade made multiple stops when the ball came close to the goal, and she pitched her first clean sheet of the season.
On the offensive end, team captain Melani Sotelo-Leon and Karla Tirado helped facilitate the ball to other teammates throughout the game. Parker attributed the team’s success to the play of all three girls, along with multiple others.
“[Wade] has just done an incredible job in her first year as a goalie, making multiple great stops for us throughout the season. Unfortunately, she’s a senior, but she stepped up and was phenomenal,” Parker said. “Melani and Karla did an excellent job this year at being leaders for the team and helped others like Aaliyah Eguia and Brianna Tirado score on the offensive end.”
Greene County advanced to the second round earlier this week to take on Dooly County, and that’s where its season ended.
The Lady Tigers played an incredibly competitive game, and took the No. 1 seeded Lady Bobcats to extra time, but came up short after being outscored 6-5 in a penalty shootout to end the game.
Regardless of the result, Greene County’s girls soccer team made a statement against the No. 1 seed of Area 2. Parker acknowledged that by the end of the season, her girls were playing with great chemistry, which is why she couldn’t be more excited to see their progression into next year.
“During the playoffs, they just came together and worked very well as a team. They communicated well, kept their composure and didn’t let the stress of the game rattle them,” Parker said. “From the beginning of the year, they’ve stayed calm and that led to a real moment for them this postseason getting that win and almost another. I’m excited about the coming years because seeing that, knowing we return almost the same team, I can’t wait to see how much better they get.”