Girls soccer playoffs: Kersh, DeMars push Bluff into 4A Final Four

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Cherokee Bluff girls soccer coach Heath Padgett will tell you they are more than just Bristol Kersh.

They won their second-round match (2-0 over Southeast Whitfield) without their sensational freshman, but with Kersh, they are a legitimate state title contender.

Kersh had four goals and one assist as the fourth-ranked Lady Bears demolished 10th-ranked Whitewater 6-0 at Yonah Field on Monday in the Elite 8 round of the Class 4A playoffs.

Still, senior Carson DeMars feels the Lady Bears’ best asset is their defense. They have yet to yield a single goal in the 2024 playoffs.

“In club (league) play, Bristol plays defense, and I play defense, but we’re able to play a little more offense here,” DeMars said after scoring a pair of goals herself. Last week really showed us we’re more than just one player, and with Bristol the rest of the way, we’re a very good team, and we’ll be hard to beat.”

With Kersh in the lineup for two of its three playoff games in 2024, Bluff (17-4) has outscored their opposition 16-0. On Thursday, they’ll get the ultimate challenge, playing host to No. 1 and unbeaten Lovett (17-0) for a shot at the championship match.

But Bluff coach Heath Padgett agreed with DeMars that it’s more about their defense than the offense.

“We’re a very good defensive team,” Padgett said. “We’ll have to do both (score and play good defense). Our leadership on the defensive end will have to step even more but they’ve played well back there all year.”

The threat of Kersh allows for the Lady Bears to attack at any moment and Padgett said attacking will also be part of the game plan.

“Being organized on the defense end will be big, but at the same time, we’re going to move forward and make them defend us as well,” he said.

Against Whitewater (14-5) it was a very sluggish start for the Lady Bears as the Lady Wildcats generated three solid scoring chances in the opening six minutes. One shot just slid past the right goal post and on two others keeper Emily Benjamin made saves to keep it scoreless.

Then Bluff does what it does best. Get the ball to Kersh. 

The freshman gathered in a long ball, made a nifty spin move around one Whitewater defender inside the box, and fed DeMars on a beautiful cross that she headed past Lady Wildcats’ keeper Loren Bradley for a 1-0 lead on their first shot of the game. A minute later, Kersh took a long pass from Ashley Scott and then beat Bradley with a left-foot blast for a 2-0 lead on just two shots.

Bluff next took advantage of a Whitewater turnover in their zone as DeMars stole a pass and found Kersh, who made it 3-0. Kersh got the hat trick a minute later with a bending 20-yard blast into the top right corner for a 4-0 lead with 23:28 left in the half.

In the second half, DeMars scored her second of the game in the 47th minute, ripping a left-footed blast past Bradley for a 5-0 lead. Kersh added her fourth goal on a beautiful ball from Scott and ran down the middle. But on the shot, she took a kick to the ankle and limped off the pitch.

Kersh returned to the game five minutes later but had her ankle wrapped in ice as soon as the final gun sounded. But she said not to worry.

“I’m good. I’ll be ready,” she said about the semifinals.