A rematch of the 2022 Class 5A state final and two matchups of reigning state champions highlight Thursday’s semifinal games in the high school girls soccer state playoffs.
Chamblee and Midtown met for the Class 5A title in 2022, but one of them will be eliminated one game short of the final this time around when they meet at North DeKalb Stadium. Chamblee won last year’s championship game 8-1 but ultimately was stripped of the title for reported GHSA rules violations. The Bulldogs have been on a mission to make the title official this year.
“The girls, especially the seniors and the girls who were a part of last year’s team, have approached this season with an immense passion,” first-year Chamblee coach Carley Miles said earlier this year. “They aren’t necessarily on a revenge tour, but they are letting the ball on the field do the talking.”
Chamblee advanced to this year’s semifinals with a 6-3 victory over No. 2 Cambridge on Monday. The game was tied 2-2 early in the second half, but the Bulldogs got goals from Kara Croone, Ansley Harrison, Cameron Pfau and Alessandra Washington to pull away. Chamblee is 19-0-1 and ranked No. 1.
Third-ranked Midtown advanced with a 2-1 quarterfinal victory over No. 5 McIntosh. Maddie Shaw scored for Midtown early in the first half, and Shay Bowman added a goal midway through the second. McIntosh scored its goal with 30 seconds remaining. Midtown is 18-1, with 12 consecutive victories since a 3-0 loss to Marist on March 1.
The winner will meet No. 6 Greenbrier or No. 10 Northgate for the title.
Atlanta private-school rivals and reigning state champions Westminster and Lovett will meet at Westminster in the Class 4A semifinals. Both schools moved up during reclassification. Westminster won the past seven championships in Class 3A, and Lovett won the past two in 2A. Fifth-ranked Westminster, which has won a state-best 15 championships in the sport, defeated No. 10 Lovett 3-0 when the teams met three weeks ago in the regular season. The winner of this game will face top-ranked North Oconee or No. 3 Holy Innocents’ for the title.
In Class 6A, top-ranked Marist and No. 3 Lassiter will try to keep alive their hopes for a second consecutive championship when they face off at Marist. Lassiter is the defending state champion in the class. Marist won the Class 4A title in 2022 before moving up during reclassification. The title was Marist’s 11th overall, fourth-most in state history. The winner will face Pope or Roswell next week for the title. Roswell, which has won on the road against Jackson County, River Ridge and St Pius, is the only No. 4 seed remaining in any classification.
Mill Creek of Class 7A became the first top-ranked team to be eliminated when it lost Campbell 2-1 in the quarterfinals. No. 2 Archer also lost in the quarters, 3-1 against Forsyth Central, and No. 2 Buford lost to Walton in the second round. That leaves a final four in the highest classification of No. 4 Walton vs. No. 5 Forsyth Central and No. 8 Denmark vs. No. 9 Campbell.
Other No. 1 teams that are still alive are Marist in Class 6A, North Oconee in 4A, Oconee County in 3A, Fellowship Christian in 2A, Commerce in A Division I and McIntosh County Academy in A Division II.
The state championships will be played Tuesday through Friday at McEachern High School and Mercer University. Class A will kick things off Tuesday with the Division I finals at Mercer and the Division II finals at McEachern.
Class 7A
Quarterfinal scores
Denmark 4, Richmond Hill 0
Campbell 3, Mill Creek 1
Walton 1, Harrison 0
Forsyth Central 3, Archer 1
Semifinal matchups
(R6 #2) Denmark at (R2 #1) Campbell
(R5 #1) Walton at (R6 #1) Forsyth Central
Class 6A
Quarterfinal scores
Pope 1, North Atlanta 0
Roswell 3, St. Pius 1
Lassiter 2, Woodward Academy 0
Marist 4, Blessed Trinity 1
Semifinal matchups
(R7 #4) Roswell at (R7 #1) Pope
(R7 #3) Lassiter at (R4 #1) Marist
Class 5A
Quarterfinal scores
Greenbrier 2, Northview 1
Northgate 3, Greater Atlanta Christian 0
Midtown 2, McIntosh 1
Chamblee 6, Cambridge 3
Semifinal matchups
(R3 #2) Northgate at (R1 #1) Greenbrier
(R5 #1) Midtown at (R4 #1) Chamblee
Class 4A
Quarterfinal scores
Holy Innocents’ 4, Whitewater 3
North Oconee 5, LaGrange 0
Lovett 9, Trinity Christian 0
Westminster 6, Starr’s Mill 0
Semifinal matchups
(R6 #2) Holy Innocents’ at (R8 #1) North Oconee
(R5 #1) Lovett at (R6 #1) Westminster
Class 3A
Quarterfinal scores
Wesleyan 1, Columbus 0
Oconee County 4, Savannah Country Day 0
St. Vincent’s 1, White County 0
Bremen 3, Morgan County 0
Semifinal matchups
(R7 #1) Wesleyan at (R8 #1) Oconee County
(R3 #1) St. Vincent’s at (R6 #1) Bremen
Class 2A
Quarterfinal scores
Fitzgerald 3, Model 1
Fellowship Christian 5, ACE Charter 0
Athens Academy 4, Savannah Arts Academy 0
Mount Paran Christian 3, Toombs County 1
Semifinal matchups
(R1 #1) Fitzgerald at (R8 #1) Fellowship Christian
(R8 #2) Athens Academy at (R6 #1) Mount Paran Christian
Class A Division I
Quarterfinal scores
Mount Vernon 11, Temple 1
Commerce 10, Bleckley County 0
Social Circle 4, East Laurens 0
Paideia 9, Lamar County 1
Semifinal matchups
(R6 #2) Mount Vernon at (R8 #1) Commerce
(R5 #1) Social Circle at (R6 #1) Paideia
Class A Division II
Quarterfinal scores
Towns County 2, Hawkinsville 0
Lake Oconee Academy 2, Atlanta Classical 1
McIntosh County Academy 4, Dooly County 0
Aquinas 10, Mount Zion-Carroll 0
Semifinal matchups
(A3 #3) Towns County at (A3 #2) Lake Oconee Academy
(A2 #1) McIntosh County Academy at (A3 #1) Aquinas
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