GREENE COUNTY
The Lake Oconee Academy boys’ soccer team had its postseason cut short after making it to the state quarterfinals for a second straight year.
The Titans fell to the eventual Class A Division II state champions, the Christian Heritage Lions, a few weeks ago to the tune of 5-1, but head coach Conner Domaleski was still proud of his squad at the end of the day.
“I can’t complain too much that we lost to the eventual state champions. In fact, the only two Class A teams to beat us played for the state championship,” Domaleski said. “It always hurts to lose, even to a quality opponent, but I thought the season went well. We had a good year, but I’d say we met expectations and not exceeded them.”
Christian Heritage came out ready from the first whistle and never gave Lake Oconee Academy much time in the game to work on the offensive end.
At halftime, the Lions led the Titans, 3-0. Domaleski’s squad would later find the back of the net once in the second half, but it wouldn’t be enough to overtake the eventual kings of Class A Division II.
Lake Oconee Academy may have had an early postseason exit, but the young squad gained valuable experience for next season.
Domaleski acknowledged how this Titans’ team was different from prior teams, and that he’s already excited to get back to work next year.
“This year’s team was different from last year’s in the fact that we didn’t have the State Player of the Year to essentially bail us out this year. We had to play a lot more fluidly as a team, and they were able to do that,” Domaleski said. “I feel like the program is headed in the right direction, and I’m really excited about next year already. We’ve got young guys that played for us this year, along with a couple of really talented incoming freshmen that will be joining us.”
Lake Oconee Academy may have lost some elite guys from a couple of years ago, but the Titans put up some impressive numbers all the same.
As a team, Domaleski’s squad defended their home pitch with the utmost sense of urgency. The Titans won seven of their eight home games, with the final one being a draw against Dawson County.
Offensively, the Titans scored 74 goals over the course of 17 matches, giving them a little over four goals a game on average.
Sophomore Palmer Larkin led the team in goals scored and was named Offensive Player of the Year for Region 8.
The Titans were even more impressive defensively, with a solid backline and sophomore goalkeeper Knox van Mol. This group helped keep 10 clean sheets on the season and only allowed a total of 13 goals in all competitions.
Overall, this year’s Lake Oconee Academy team was the youngest it has had in a while.
The Titans started four freshmen on the pitch who were instantly able to contribute. Chris Arrue, Garrett Griffin, Ryan Johnson and Austin Dell all helped the team in some capacity, especially Griffin and Johnson, who earned All-Region honors as well.
Not only is the bulk of next season’s Titans’ team younger guys, but they are also adding a few talented eighth graders that will be starting their high school careers next year.
Ultimately, Domaleski believes that the knowledge he has gained over his past few years as head coach will really help grow the young and somewhat inexperienced team he’ll have next season.
“We will miss guys like Jefferson Amaya, who’s graduating at the end of the month, but there’s no firepower leaving that we don’t already have a replacement for next year,” Domaleski said. “I’ve learned so much in my time here, from scheduling to administrative work to getting to know and work well with the guys. I’m thankful to the parents and staff for being patient with me because I’m learning as I go, but I’ve learned a lot and think we can build off of that going into next year.”