Last season the varsity girls’ soccer team finished 16-6 and were the GHSA state runners-up to McIntosh, the Lady Panthers’ biggest rival. The girls  averaged four goals a game and they were a force to be reckoned with. This season the team picked up where it left off with a 14-5 regular season and a third-place finish in Region 4-AAAAA.

The Lady Panthers blew through the first round of the state playoffs with a 6-0 win over Glynn Academy. “We held possession of the ball very well in that game, and we played well on defense and didn’t let them have any goal-scoring opportunities,” sophomore Ansley Peurifoy said. The team plays Alexander at 6 p.m. tomorrow in Douglasville.

At the start of the season, the outlook wasn’t so good.  The bad news was they lost three of their first six games.  The good news was their  three wins were 10-0 blowouts. “Our team play was back and forth in the beginning, and we were never consistent,” sophomore Ashton Nowicki said.

They played East Coweta next. This game was important because East Coweta was one of the top teams in the region.  The pace  started off slow and the Lady Panthers had a number of shots [about how many???] on goal but they couldn’t get past sophomore East Coweta goalie Samantha Hoffman. The Indians took a 1-0 lead late in the first half. The Panther defense kept East Coweta in check with the help of Nowicki and juniors Lauren Yoss and Laurel Parker.

In the second half of the game, Yoss sent a pass with great touch to junior Leslie Logan, who capitalized on it to even the score 1-1. Both teams fought hard but neither gained an edge. The game went into overtime and eventually to penalty kicks. In PKs, the teams were tied 2-2, but Hoffman made two saves, which boosted the Indians to a 3-2 victory over the Lady Panthers.

The girls bounced back after that game and won two straight, outscoring their opponents 20-0 .  “After East Coweta, we really got motivated to play well,” Yoss said.

After their mediocre start, the Lady Panthers went on a 6-1 tear. Their next opponent, the Northgate Lady Vikings, was also an important region game because they have been one of the Lady Panthers’ biggest rivals, noted for their physical play. This game was fought hard and both teams went all out for the entire 80 minutes. The Panthers scored first when senior Kayla Feigenbaum passed the ball to the middle of the penalty box. Junior Riley Clark capitalized on the opportunity to put the Panthers up 1-0. Three minutes later, Yoss was fouled and was awarded a penalty kick, but the Northgate keeper saved it. In the second half the Panthers had more chances on goal but could not find the back of the net.

The Lady Panther defense played well to preserve the shutout. In one of the biggest plays of the game, Northgate penetrated the Panther defense and had a great shot on goal, but senior goalkeeper Paige Betsill came up with a huge save.

Six days later the team faced its biggest rival, McIntosh. This game was a rematch of last year’s state final, so there was a lot of emotion going in. McIntosh scored first but Starr’s Mill quickly answered six minutes later with a goal from Clark. Almost immediately after that, McIntosh answered with a goal off a cross, and the score at halftime was 2-1.

Once the second half started, Starr’s Mill had few chances to score as did McIntosh, but the Chiefs finished their chances and won, 4-1. “We really felt confident going in, and we wanted to get revenge, but we just didn’t finish well,” Peurifoy said.

The Lady Panthers have lost many close games, but girls soccer coach John Bowen keeps them prepared. “We try to stay focused on the moment like the next pass, next shot, next tackle, and let go of any mistake. It’s all about what we do next,” Bowen said.