GAINESVILLE -- Mark Dunn keeps watching his retirement drift further and further away.
And the Chestatee girls soccer coach is just fine with that -- after all, his Lady War Eagles are making history.
The coach watched his team dominate West Laurens for a 5-1 second round Class AAAA playoff win on Tuesday in Gainesville, a result that netted the program's first-ever state quarterfinal appearance -- and pushed the longtime coach's retirement off for at least a few more days.
"I told them they're playing for the school and history... I'm just so proud of them," said Dunn, who also spent years as a successful boys coach at Johnson High before moving to Chestatee. "I announced before the season I was doing this to get it out of the way. And (my retirement) has in no way been a distraction. We've had some great players here, but this is the most solid team we've had, back-to-front, since I've been here."
Tuesday's only distraction for the Lady War Eagles came in wondering just when the first goal would come. Once it did -- courtesy a Merrie Barnett strike with 16:54 left in the first half -- Chestatee was well on its way to the third round, where a stiff challenge awaits. Woodward Academy will host the Lady War Eagles on Friday -- a showdown that Dunn says his team is relishing. (NOTE: Chestatee was one of five area girls teams to win on Tuesday and secure a state quarterfinal berth, as Buford, Dawson County, Lumpkin County and Union County also proved victorious. To see a complete list of area scores and a quartefinal schedule, see below.)
"They're excited about it," Dunn said. "Last year we played Marist in the first round and we've played some tough teams already this year, including Buford. These players aren't going to be intimidated."
The Lady War Eagles (14-6) took the contest to West Laurens from the outset, as Barnett, Sadie Foote, Alyssa Yarck, Stacey Mendoza, Samantha Addington, Nina Burgess and Megan Dew combined to keep the Lady Raiders pinned in their own half. Chestatee also kept opposing goalkeeper Anna Coleman on her toes, starting with a looping 12-yard shot from Barnett that Coleman tipped over her own crossbar. Seconds later, Foote and Barnett nearly broke the deadlock, Foote forcing a deflected save that Barnett nearly turned home.
It was only the opening salvo, however, and the Lady War Eagles found their range with just over 16 minutes left in the half, Barnett sweeping home a cross from Mendoza for a 1-0 lead.
Chestatee struck twice more before the interval to put the contest out of reach, substitute Anna Abercrombie making the most of her entrance when she curved in a pass from Dew for a 2-0 advantage with 8:42 left in the half. Just 1:39 later it was Dew's turn to score, running on to a slide-rule pass from Mendoza before haring past a defender and rolling a shot past Coleman for a 3-0 lead.
"The last few games our attackers have been quicker than the defense," Dunn said. "They've really started to click the last few games. We started kind of sluggish today, but they really found another gear their before halftime."
Mendoza proved a key cog of that acceleration, and the freshman continued her stellar play after halftime, running on to a cross from Heydi Acosta and lobbing a 15-yard shot past Coleman for a 4-0 advantage. Chestatee came close -- numerous times -- to extending its advantage but could not find a way past Coleman for much of the rest of the half.
In the meantime, West Laurens pulled one goal back, as Lauren Childers squeezed a shot past Taylor Bennett in the Lady War Eagles goal for a 4-1 scoreline with 12:19 remaining. Hope Baxter restored the Lady War Eagles four-goal cushion, however, reacting first to a bouncing ball in the Lady Raiders penalty area to score from six yards with just 4:58 remaining.
By then Chestatee was already thinking of Friday's historic match.
GIRLS STATE SOCCER PLAYOFF RESULTS
Tuesday, Second Round
Class AAAA
Buford 10, Mary Persons 0
Chestatee 5, West Laurens 1
Class AAA
Lumpkin County 2, Pierce County 0
Dawson County 5, Peach County 1
Savannah Arts 2, West Hall 1
Class AA
Union County 6, Thomasville 0
Class A
Fellowship Christian 8, Lakeview Academy 0
STATE QUARTERFINALS SCHEDULE
Friday
Class AAAA
Chestatee at Woodward Academy
St. Pius at Buford
Class AAA
Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe at Lumpkin County
Dawson County at Westminster
Class AA
Lovett at Union County
