All great things come to an end, or so they say. This year’s local boys and girls high school soccer programs as a whole flexed its muscles.
Across the board, the Northeast Georgia soccer brand showed that it can play with the best of them. Seven local girls teams advanced to the state playoffs, while five boys squads also took to the pitch in postseason play.
Among the boys teams that made the playoffs were Habersham Central, White County, Dawson County, Union County and Rabun County. Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Union, Towns and Rabun all represented North Georgia soccer by also playing in the state playoffs.
Habersham Central
The Habersham Central Raiders (7-9-1) were 6-3 in Region 6-AAAAAA under coach Ric Wallace, and despite facing a handful of key injuries, were able to follow up their 2015 Elite 8 run with a round one performance in 2016. The Raiders fell to Duluth on the road to close their season.
The Lady Raiders matched their win total from 2015, going 5-11-2 in a season that saw the girls play very well outside of the region. Senior Ally Bevers (11 goals, 7 assists) led the girls offensively, scoring or assisting in any game that the Lady Raiders scored.
White County
White County’s Warriors boys soccer team was perhaps the biggest surprise teams of 2016 within the area. The Warriors went 10-7-2 under first-year head coach Jeremy Stille, a Piedmont College soccer standout who graduated in 2010. Senior Clancy Loudermilk (20 goals, 9 assists) and sophomore Zach Baker (20 goals, 5 assists) led White County to a Sweet 16 appearance in their first state playoff run in recent history. For the first time in school history, the Warriors also were able to take down mighty Buford in a key region win. Stille is the Warriors’ fourth head coach since 2010.
The Lady Warriors (8-10) squeaked into the GHSA playoffs with a 4-4 mark in region 8-AAAA, marking the fourth straight season advancing to the playoffs. senior forward Savanna Magill (21 goals, 5 assists) and senior goalie Adianna Ortiz (160 saves, 3 shutouts) were the staples to this girls team in 2016.
Dawson County
Jed Lacey’s boys and girls programs have been among the elite in the state of Georgia, and despite both the boys and girls making it to the Elite 8, even Lacey would agree that these teams left more on the table after falling in the quarterfinals.
The Tigers (14-4-1) lost only one region game, and went on a tear in the playoffs as a #2-seed, falling at Oconee County just days ago. Senior Alan Sanchez (18 goals, 16 assists) and sophomore Dennis Pyetsukh (24 goals, 12 assists) were electric, with Sanchez notching the school assists record and Pyetsukh the goals record at Dawson.
The Lady Tigers were 16-2-1 overall, taking the region crown easily behind stellar play from senior Emily Queen (16 goals, 8 assists), the Region Player of the Year, and freshman GK Fallan Lacey (12 shutouts, only 8 goals allowed), who averaged less than half a goal against per game in her first season between the posts. The girls fell to Westminster at home to end their season.
This Dawson program has produced five straight playoff runs and 88 wins for the girls program since 2010, and six straight state playoff runs for the boys with 85 wins.
Lumpkin County
The Lumpkin girls, led by one of the state’s top scorers in senior Alexis Satterfield (29 goals, 5 assists), advanced to the Elite 8 after last year’s semifinals appearance, but fell to Decatur. The Lady Indians (15-5) made it three straight playoff runs after winning 42 games in just the last three years. Sophomore Morgan Fagan (19 goals, 16 assists) and junior Abi Hunt (anchor of 13 shutouts) will ensure this team stays in competition next year.
The Indians’ season saw them go 8-9-1 and just miss out on a third straight season of advancing to state. Senior keeper David Sierra notched 129 saves between the posts.
Union County
The Lady Panthers soccer team also advanced to the state quarterfinals, going 12-3 on the season with a perfect region mark of 5-0, giving them back-to-back region 8-AA titles. The emergence of freshman Madison Yost (23 goals, 8 assists) and senior Rachel Vester (16 goals, 9 assists) helped get Union to the Elite 8, where they fell to Pace Academy.
The boys team fell in the second round to Putnam County, but went 7-4-3 on the season. Union’s programs, much like Dawson, have been some of the most elite in the state in their class over the past seven years. The girls have won 65 games since 2011, making state each year, while the boys have won 53 over the same span with five trips to state, including four in a row now.
Towns County
The Lady Indians soccer program, at 9-4, advanced to the state playoffs for the fifth time in six years. Sophomore Brooke Barrett (22 goals, 7 assists) led the girls, which saw their season end at Paideia in the opening round. The Indians went 1-9 on the season.
Rabun County
The Rabun boys and girls both made state in 2016, with the girls going 5-5-1 and the boys 4-6-1. Despite the girls .500 mark, they advanced to the second round of the playoffs before falling to Thomasville on the road.
Banks County
Neither the boys nor the girls soccer programs made state for Banks, but the Lady Leopards did go 4-9-1 and the boys 5-10 on the year. Senior McKenzie Simpson (7 goals, 1 assist) and junior keeper Gabby Kennedy led the girls.
Rabun Gap
The Rabun Gap girls team went 7-9-2 on the 2016 season.
Of the local talent, many were named BLITZ Player of the Year nominees, while the girls finalists from the nominee pool includes: Brooke Barrett (Towns), Fallan Lacey (Dawson), Savanna Magill (White), Emily Queen (Dawson), Alexis Satterfield (Lumpkin) and Madison Yost (Union). The boys finalists for the BLITZ Player of the Year include: Clancy Loudermilk (White), Dennis Pyetsukh (Dawson) and Alan Sanchez (Dawson).
