Experience can be a valuable asset. For those that don't have it, there is only one way to attain it. But those with it hold a certain advantage.
In the state soccer finals, seven defending state champions have advanced back to the finals for a second straight year. Five of them are in the boys' competition.
ALL GWINNETT ...
The boys' Class AAAAAA final is a celebration of Gwinnett County soccer. Mill Creek, a first-time finalist, meets Brookwood, a traditional power that has won two state titles. A team from Gwinnett has won the championship in the state's largest classification in four of the last five seasons. Berkmar wore the crown last year while Collins Hill won it in 2009, 2010 and 2012. Cobb County's Walton won the state championship in 2011 and is the lone non-Gwinnett winner since 2009.
The girls' AAAAAA final, meanwhile, has some uncertainty, as East Coweta and Grayson were forced to replay their match due to inclement weather. The game will be
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| Photo by Richard Craine |
continued today at 7 p.m.
Harrison, the 2011 champ, awaits the winner in the finals. Grayson split the 2007 championship with
Parkview while East Coweta has not yet won a state soccer title.
CHALLENGING THE CHIEFS ...
McIntosh has been far and away the biggest favorite to win the Class AAAAA championship, as the Chiefs have rolled up an eye-opening 43 straight wins and were ranked No. 1 in the Score Atlanta/AJC rankings all season. Houston County is the No. 2 seed out of Region 2. The Bears lost to McIntosh in the finals last year by a score of 2-0.
The McIntosh girls are also in the final this year. The Chiefs have won six girls state championships, most recently in 2011 and 2012. Like the McIntosh boys, the lady Chiefs are ranked No. 1 despite getting the third seed out of Region 4. McIntosh will face a familiar foe in the finals. The Chiefs will take on region-rival and Fayette County-neighbor Starr's Mill in the finals.
DEVASTATING DALTON ...
The Dalton boys rolled through Class AAAA this year and have done
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| Photo courtesy Dalton HS |
it again thus far in 2014. The Catamounts are undefeated since the 2012 state playoffs when they lost to Carrollton in the quarterfinals. Dalton has been ranked No. 1 all season.
Johnson-Gainesville will take on Dalton in the finals this weekend and will be some of the best competition the Catamounts have faced in a while. Johnson beat Dalton's rival Southeast Whitfield 1-0 in the semifinals and has given up just two goals in the playoffs.
Marist is one of two defending state champions to make the girls finals. The War Eagles have been No. 1 all season and are undefeated with one tie. Veterans, in its first state championship game in program history, is 18-1 and has not given up a goal since March 8. Marist, however, has given up just four goals all season.
TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW...
