Five Panthers headline soccer All-Region team, girls’ team hails player and coach of the year
Girls’ soccer player dribbles the ball up field in a early round playoff game against Harris County.
May 13, 2016
“Anytime you are successful, you’ll end up getting recognized,” girls’ head coach John Bowen said.
Both the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams have been successful this year, and were recognized for that success as five soccer players were named to the Region 4-AAAAA all region soccer team.The players include seniors Riley Clark, Ashlyn Walloch, and Dylan Patterson from the girls’ team, and Jack VanNimwegen and Michael Lantz from the boys’.
“We didn’t make a huge deal out of it,” Bowen said. “It’s mainly about the team and their success. We let everyone else talk about the individual success, we stick to the team success.”
Dylan Patterson reigned the most votes of any player in the entire region, voted on by 12 different coaches in the region. In a completely different voting, however, Riley Clark won the Player of the Year for the region.
“Basically, the process is pretty simple,” Bowen said. “I send out an email with my top 5 nominated players and the other coaches vote on a starting 11 for the region. They also name their own player of the year and the other coaches vote for each player of the year.”
In addition to the players getting nominated for individual awards, Bowen was also named the coach of the year for the region, joining head football coach Chad Phillips with that honor for the school year.
Girls’ soccer head coach John Bowen talks to the players during the semifinal match against Columbus.
“It’s usually based off region success,” Bowen said. “They sometimes will just look at who scored the most, who has the most wins and all that stuff when deciding some of these awards. It’s still a great honor, but that’s how it’s done sometimes.”
Players from all around the county held a spot in the all region team, but most players from both the boys’ and girls’ side reigned from Starr’s Mill and McIntosh, schools in the Peachtree City area. With players like U.S. National Team player Kelley O’Hara coming from the area, something has to be said about the development of talent from the Peachtree City area.
“Peachtree City is a soccer hotbed,” Bowen said. “It’s been like that for years, and that’s why you have players like O’Hara playing on the national team.”
The boys soccer team already finished its season with a 1-0 loss in the second round of the state playoffs. The girls team finished their season with a 2-2 tie in regulation, followed by a 3-1 loss in penalty kicks to Columbus on Wednesday.
