MOUNT AIRY -- Time and again this postseason, the Habersham Central boys soccer team thrived under pressure.
But Wednesday's Class AAAA semifinal simply proved too much -- even for a Raiders team that had thrice won in overtime or penalty shootouts in the 2011 playoffs -- as Chattahoochee dealt Habersham a 8-2 defeat in the Final Four in Mt. Airy.
The Cougars pounced for five first-half goals, using their speed in attack to pull away from a close battle just minutes before halftime.
"I thought we kept fighting for a good while, but then we fell apart in some basic things, and you can't do that against a great team like Chattahoochee," Raiders coach Ric Wallace said. "Once we made some mistakes, things got out of hand before we could respond."
Top-ranked Chattahoochee put No. 4 Habersham behind just 4:30 into the contest, when Julian Droege beat a Raider defender to a long pass and bore down on goal before sliding a shot past Habersham goalkeeper Antonio Rivera from 10 yards.
The goal was only a hint of what was to come later in the half. Yet while the strike put the Raiders on their heels momentarily, Habersham steadied itself and began to fight back into the contest.
Running at the Chattahoochee defense, Habersham's midfielders began to build their confidence, and Rojelio Navarrete nearly knotted the contest when he forced Cougars goalkeeper Austin Pack to charge off his line and block a goal-bound shot with 25 minutes left in the half.
Fabian Paramo also got the better of the Chattahoochee defense, surging past two Cougars in midfield. But even though his 18-yard shot beat Pack, it sliced just wide of the goalmouth 16 minutes before the interval.
But all of Habersham's momentum vanished just minutes later, as the Cougars exploded for four goals over an 11 minute, five second spree.
Chattahoochee's Chris Ryan opened the surge, scoring with 12:45 left in the first half after finding plenty of space and time inside the Raiders own penalty area.
Four minutes later Ryan made it 3-0 after Matt Janowitz stormed past two defenders and cut a pass back for the senior striker, who slotted an eight-yard shot into the net.
Ryan continued to prove a thorn for the Raiders defense, earning a penalty kick with 6:24 remaining when he won the race to another long ball out of the Chattahoochee defense and was brought down by Rivera in the area. Ammon Lakip stepped forward to take the spot kick, and although Rivera -- who played an outstanding game -- initially saved the penalty, the rebound fell right to Lakip, who didn't miss a second time, scoring for a 4-0 lead.
"The scoreline doesn't reflect how well Antonio played to keep us in there," Wallace said of his goalkeeper.
Habersham's Josh Wellborn pushed out of defense and looked to fashion an answer for the Raiders, but his close-range shot fell right for Pack with three minutes left in the half. Moments later, the Cougars put the game out of reach with their fifth strike, Kevin Hady heading home after a perfectly placed cross to the back post from Mitchell Lurie.
Habersham got consolation goals from Anthony Zuniga and Cristian Zavala in the second half -- including an impressive, 25-yard blast from Zavala -- but Chattahoochee kept pace, with Lakip ripping an 18-yard shot into the net after a short corner. Lurie then added his own strike with 11 minutes remaining. Tucker Coons also scored late in the contest.
"We'd have a go at them, and then they hit back with a straight long ball over the top, and we struggled with it," Wallace said. "We also got dominated in tackles."
The Raiders won their sixth straight region championship in 2011 and matched their deepest ever playoff run by reaching the semifinals, but their season is now complete.
"We didn't know where we'd be at the start of this season, and to get to the Final Four is an outstanding accomplishment," Wallace said. "I'm super proud of these kids and the way they represent us and Habersham Central. They always fought hard and played with everything they had."
Tuesday
May 13th, 2025
1:17AM
