The Lake Oconee Academy Titans’ soccer team defeated the Atkinson County Rebels last Tuesday in the second round of the Class A-Public state playoffs.
The 2-1 victory marks the third season in a row the Titans have made it this far in the tournament.
Lake Oconee Academy defeated the Academy for Classical Education 4-2 during the 2018-2019 playoffs and lost 5-2 to the Gryphons in last year’s playoffs.
Even with the continued success, Titans’ head coach Conner Domaleski pointed out that their last win was more impressive than some may realize.
“[Atkinson] was really good and probably the best opponent we’ve played all year. To be able to go there and get a win is really impressive,” Domaleski said. “That team could’ve gone all the way.”
However, Titan midfielder Kyle Beasley kept that from happening. He scored both goals for Lake Oconee Academy: one being a header in the first half and the other a penalty kick during the second.
Domaleski also acknowledged other forwards will be big for the Titans down the stretch.
“Palmer Larkin is a freshman who plays left wing for us, and we need to get him more involved,” Domaleski said. “He’s one of our best scorers, but we struggle to get him involved because we like to attack down the right side.”
Heading into Tuesday’s matchup against Portal, the Titans will look to keep their three-game win streak alive and beat an opponent they saw at this time last year.
This will be Lake Oconee Academy’s first time playing the Portal Panthers, who are currently 10-2 and finished 6-2 in their region.
Regardless of the lack of competitions against each other, Domaleski understands that any opponent they come across will be a tough matchup.
“When you make it to the state tournament, you get matched up against a bunch of teams who you’ve never seen play,” Domaleski said. “When you go to someone’s place and play in front of their home crowd, it’s always tough.”