Girls soccer playoffs: Defense driving area teams into the Elite 8

Rankings mean nothing once the playoffs begin.

Both No. 1-ranked teams Buford (7A) and Jefferson (5A) and fourth-ranked Cherokee Bluff (4A) all found that out last week in the second round of the Georgia High School Association girls soccer playoffs.

The Lady Wolves (1-0 over Milton) and the Lady Dragons (3-2 over Chattahoochee) both survived one-goal victories at home. Both will be tested again on Monday in the Elite 8 round of the playoffs.

Cherokee Bluff (16-4) also had a tough second-round match in Class 4A, holding off Southeast Whitfield 2-0 at home. But that came without star freshman Bristol Kersh.

For all three teams, defense is a theme. Buford has allowed just two goals all season; Jefferson has four. Bluff is giving up just 1.05 goals/game (21 total) on the season.

Lady Bears coach Heath Padgett feels that could be the key matchup against a Whitewater (14-4-1) team that is averaging 4.57 goals/game on offense.

“Defensively, we will have to be very good, as we have been all season,” Padgett said. “I don’t think they have seen a backline like ours much this year.”

Bluff is 13-1 in its last 14 games and has not allowed more than two goals in any of those 14 with six shutouts.

“The key for us is to continue to play our game. It will be important for us to move the ball to break up their speed of play, and we will have to finish our chances,” Padgett said.

Buford (18-0-1) plays host to No. 6 Hillgrove (12-4-2) in a matchup that features a pair of top 5 defenses and two top 7 offenses. The Lady Wolves have surrendered just two goals all season while Hillgrove is averaging 4.55 goals/game on the season.

Jefferson (17-0-1) has given up just four goals on the season and takes on fourth-ranked Northgate (15-2-2), a semifinalist in 2023. The Lady Dragons are making their best playoff run since advancing to the Class 4A championship match in 2022.

It will the first time in program history that the Lady Dragons have hosted an Elite 8 round game.

"Anytime you can have a home field advantage, it gives you advantages in other areas," Jefferson coach Molly McCarty said. "We have always traveled (in the quarterfinal round) so we know how much it is a benefit (to be at home). This is will most certainly be a battle in all areas of the field. Northgate is a composed team in all areas."

Dawson County, ranked seventh, travels to fifth-ranked Pike County in Class 3A. The Lady Tigers (13-4) will rely on an offense that has scored three or more goals in 12 of their 17 matches and are 12-0 when scoring three or more on the season. Pike County (13-4-2) has won six straight but has only given up two goals with four shutouts in that span.

And in another battle of ranked teams, fifth-ranked Towns County (10-2) heads to sixth-ranked Hawkinsville (9-0) in Class A Division 2.