GREENE COUNTY
Soccer has been a successful spring sport at Lake Oconee Academy for the past couple of seasons, and this year is no different.
Both the girls' and boy's programs ended up well above .500 and finished second in their areas. This earned the Titans and Lady Titans first-round byes heading into the GHSA Class A Division II State Playoffs.
The boys program finished the regular season with a 10-2-3 overall record while the girls finished with an 8-6-1 record. Both squads ended up going 5-1 in region play.
Both teams have had no problem scoring goals throughout the course of the season. The Lady Titans have scored 44 goals while the Titans have scored 67 in 2023.
On the defensive end, the boys team has seen great play from its backline all season long, and they’re backed up by All-State keeper Knox van Mol. Together, the Titans' defensive unit has only given up eight goals all season.
The girls team has also seen defensive improvements. The Lady Titans gave up 58 total goals last season through the same amount of matches, but this year’s squad has held opponents to just 33 goals.
In an interview with the Lake Oconee News a little less than a month ago, boys head coach Conner Domaleski acknowledged that they have the talent to beat anybody. He believes it will be the team’s mental fortitude that helps the Titans make it back to the GHSA Class A Division II Final Four like they did last year.
“Our last five or so losses have just come from a lack of focus at the end of matches because I do think we have one of the more quality teams in the area,” Domaleski said. “We kind of have some unfinished business we’re working towards also because we lost in the last couple minutes against ACE (Academy of Classical Education) in last year’s semifinal game. Our guys are hungry to get back to that point.”
LOA girls head coach Kourtney Kelley’s team is also poised to be more competitive than they were in last year’s postseason after losing their first-round match to Atlanta Classical Academy.
The Lady Titans will host a first-round match on April 17th and will play Johnson County, which defeated Macon County 3-0 this past Tuesday.
The Titans will also host its first-round match, but that will be played on April 18th against the winner of Lanier County and Wheeler County.
Start times are still to be determined.