A look at Savannah-area soccer teams state playoff Elite Eight matchups
It's been a competitive week in the state soccer playoffs and Savannah-area teams have more than held their own — with nine local teams advancing to the state quarterfinals in the GHSA playoffs.
Here's a look back at how they got there — and what's coming next week.
Benedictine 2, West Laurens 1
The Benedictine soccer team was dominating the run of play Thursday night when visiting West Laurens took advantage of a rare opportunity and scored in the 46th minute.
It didn't take long for the Cadets to respond, as they moved the ball upfield quickly, with Preston Robinson converting from close range less that a minute later to tie things up in a Class 4A Sweet 16 Matchup.
The goal brought life back to BC, the Region 3-4A champions, and the Cadets closed things out strong behind a goal in the 71st minute by Mills Hollis, who found the back of the net with two defenders closing in from about 7 yards out. Benedictine looked strong the rest of the way in the 2-1 win.
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BC will host East Hall, which knocked them out of the state quarterfinals last season, on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
"When Preston scored that gave us the kick we needed and we got our energy back," said senior Ryan Fabrizio, who was named the Region 3-4A Player of the Year this week. "Our defense was really compact today, and that allowed us to get the ball up to our forwards and find some gaps."
The Cadets were without senior keeper Liam McClimans, who missed the match due to illness. Freshman Ben Weisel had his first career start in his place.
Asher Sigmon, a standout midfielder alongside Fabrizio, said the Cadet defense has been the key to the team's success, along with the strong senior presence with Fabrizio and himself setting the tempo of the game from the center of the pitch.
BC coach Charles Moore said he felt all along that his squad was the better side, but he credited West Laurens for executing a good game plan early on.
"They were focused on our midfield trying to slow down Asher (Sigmon) and Ryan (Fabrizio), and we got a little impatient and frustrated early on," said Moore, who led BC to state 2A crowns in 2017 and 2018. "When they scored, I thought if we didn't hit back quickly we would struggle -- but we struck back immediately and I think that took the wind out of their sails and we dominated from there."
Savannah Country Day 2, Jackson 1
SCD was on top of its game Wednesday against visiting Jackson in a Class 3A Sweet 16 match Tuesday as the Hornets were constantly sending shots at goal without being able to cash in.
Jackson's Aiden Reyes converted a header on Jackson's only chance in the last 10 minutes of the first half and the Red Devils were hanging on for dear life in the second half. But SCD kept the pressure on, and sophomore Hyers Holland finally connected in the 77th minute of play to tie things up at 1-1.
One minute later, junior Wesley Hooker, who had been the energy of the offense for the match — slotted a perfect pass in front of the goal to Carson Cook, who blasted one in from point blank range as the Hornets took a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"That's the way soccer works sometimes, you dominate in terms of shots on goal and have a hard time scoring," SCD coach Michael Hincker said. "But the boys kept their heads up and kept shooting on target until they found the back of the net. Our boys kept fighting and came away with the win."
Last season, SCD lost in the second round of the Class A Private playoffs to Providence Christian 3-1.
"Looking at the clock with 10 minutes left, I was thinking things were looking the same as last year," Hooker said. "But we pulled it out. We wanted to go further and make a run in the state playoffs."
Richmond Hill 3, Brookwood 2 (OT)
The Wildcats went on the road and pulled on an impressive win over No. 1 seed Brookwood on Tuesday. Richmond Hill improved to 12-4-1 on the season and will be on the road to face another No. 1 on Tuesday in Lambert (17-1-1).
Tyler Diesman scored a spectacular goal on a bicycle kick on an assist from Evan Wiebold, and Diesman assisted on the second goal by Sebastian Gough. Gus Gonzalez scored the go-ahead goal in overtime on another assist by Diesman.
"The guys have really come together and are peaking at the right time," Wildcat Coach Stephen Peterson said.
Woodville-Tompkins 6, East Laurens 4 (OT)
Trailing 3-0 at the half, it looked like the Woodville-Tompkins soccer team would see its season come to an end, but the Wolverines came on strong after intermission and rallied to win 6-4 in overtime in a Class A Division I second round game.
Abraham Rivera, who was named the Region 3-A Division I Player of the Year this week, had two goals and an assist, Mikael Daniels netted a pair of goals and Luis Lopez and Adrian Herrera scored for the Wolverines, who improved to 10-4 on the season. Allen Nicolas and Mario Zuniga had two assists each for Woodville.
This is the first time the Wolverines have advanced to the state quarterfinals.
"At halftime I asked our seniors if this is the way they wanted to go out, and of course they said no," Woodville coach Kaleb Pinckney said. "The crazy thing is that we didn't finally score until there was just 20 minutes left in the game. That's when everything started clicking with our passing patterns and we started finishing. It was a great game."
Woodville is set to host Armuchee (9-4-1) at Garden City Stadium Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Bradwell Institute 1, Tucker 0
Bradwell went on the road and knocked off No. 1 seed Tucker Tuesday. The Tigers (13-4-2) will be in Atlanta again to take on another No. 1 seed in Centennial on Tuesday in a Class 5A quarterfinal.
GIRLS SOCCER
St. Vincent's 4, Mary Persons 0
The Saints looked strong in a shutout win over Mary Persons at Memorial Stadium on Monday. Sophomore Ava Holcey had a pair of goals and an assist and he classmate Alexis Spisso had a goal. McCall Smith assisted on a goal and scored another and Maddy Kelly had an assist.
"Fitness was the key for us today," SVA coach Katie Knight said. "The girls have been working really hard conditioning wise and that paid off today. The word for our team this year has been 'relentless' and I thought we showed our mental toughness with the win today."
Spisso scored from point blank range when the Mary Persons keeper tried a short pass to a teammate, with Spisso barging in to knock it in.
"I don't think they realized the ball was live," Spisso said. "This was a big win for us. I think our strength is we are all close, we're like a big family."
SVA improved to 12-3 on the year and the Saints are set to host White County (14-5) Monday, April 24, at Memorial Stadium at 5 p.m.
Savannah Country Day 2, Pike County 1
SCD went on the road and knocked off a No. 1 seed in Pike County as Emma Bromley netted one goal, while Reece Bailey scored with an assist from Sophia Okumu.
The Hornets improved to 13-1 on the season. Their only loss this year came against St. Vincent's in a match decided on penalty kicks.
The team has a balanced offensive attack with Bailey and Okumu leading the squad with 15 goals each. A.C. Davis and Stella Oelschig have nine goals each and Ella Stone has eight goals and seven assists.
SCD will be on the road again Monday at 5:30 p.m. as they face another No. 1 seed in Oconee County (15-4-1).
Savannah Arts 6, Worth County 0
Valerie Kapitan had a hat trick and an assist, Amelia Reci had a pair of goals and two assists and Catherine Costner scored for Savannah Arts in a 6-0 win over Worth Co. Wednesday.
Savannah Arts improved to 15-3-1 on the season. The Panthers set to host Athens Academy in Elite 8 matchup Monday, April 24, at Islands High School Stadium at 5 p.m.
Richmond Hill 1, Brookwood 0
The Wildcats continued their winning ways as they improved to 15-0 on the season by edging visiting Brookwood on Monday on a goal by freshman Kamdyn Martinez.
Richmond Hill is set to host Denmark on Monday, April 24, at a time to be announced.
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah-area soccer teams that reached the state Elite Eight
