BUFORD -- A red card on Johnson's Fabian Abarca last week may prove to be one of the deciding moments in Region 8-AAAA.
It certainly made a difference for the Class AAAA third-ranked Knights Tuesday night as they fell 1-0 to Buford without their star offensive threat.
Without Abarca, Johnson coach Brian Shirley was looking for someone, anyone to step up and fill the void. He's still waiting.
"We really just had a tough time all over the field," Shirley said. "Not having Fabian was not the problem, though. We scored seven goals the other night without him. We just played with a total lack of effort (tonight)."
A more clear path to a region title was certainly for the taking for the Knights (9-2, 4-1 Region 8-AAAA) who also saw their eight-match win streak come to end. They will be without Abarca for one more match on Friday when they play host to Chestatee on Friday.
It's almost a must-win now for the Knights if they have any chance at the region title.
"It's not over," Shirley said. "This is just one match. But we need to take care of business against Chestatee. We'll need to find someone to pick up the slack. Another region loss would be tough to overcome if we want to win region."
The outlook was just the opposite for Buford coming into Tuesday's match. After a tough 3-2 loss to Chestatee last week, it looked slim at best for any chance at a region title.
Now, after winning their fourth one-goal match over their past five, they are right back in the hunt. The Wolves (5-4-1, 5-1) play host to North Oconee on Friday.
A Johnson win over Chestatee and a Wolves win would put them in first place.
"We knew we had a good team and we never got down after that one," Buford coach Victor Lane said. "One match, either way, doesn't decide everything. But this was a good win for us over a good team.
"(As for the one-goal matches) our guys just keep doing what they do. Senior (defender) Alan Caballero and (junior keeper) Will Davis lead the defense and have done a great job of locking things down for us."
Davis finished with 15 saves for Buford to hand Johnson its second 1-0 loss of the season.
Early on it looked like neither team would be able to get much going. Both teams counter-punched in the opening 10 minutes with no real scoring chances on either end. But Buford would get the first free kick of the game with 28:55 left and take advantage.
Christian Lopez looped a beautiful cross from left of the goal and Miguel Burgos was able to get just enough of the pass to slide it past Johnson keeper Gerardo Molina for a 1-0 lead at 28:48 of the first half.
The Knights offense woke up for a while putting pressure on the Buford defense with three long throw-ins for header attempts and a free kick in the next seven minutes but the Knights could not get the equalizer.
Johnson continued to pressure the Buford defense. Over the final 15 minutes of the first half the Knights had three free kicks, one from just 20-yards out, but Davis made several aggressive saves to keep the shutout intact in the first half.
In the second half, Johnson continued to push forward with several opportunities early. In the fifth minute a long throw-in resulted in a scramble in front of the Buford goal but no shots. One minute later, a carbon copy and again no shots on goal. Two minutes after that, a 40-yard free kick would catch Davis out of the goal box but the Knights could not get a clean shot off.
The Wolves then went on the offensive. With 29:00 minutes left Buford got a 30-yard free kick but the Johnson defense was able to clear the ball. Just over two minutes later another free kick for 40-yards out for the Wolves also was thwarted by the Knights defense.
But a Johnson miscue on a clearing attempt moment's later allowed Lopez a run and shot at Molina from within 10 yards. Molina's save gave Jaaziel Palacios a wide-open rebound shot at an empty net but the shot sailed high over the crossbar.
Buford controlled the ball most of the final seven minutes to keep Johnson on its heels. The Knights generated just one real scoring opportunity over the final 10 minutes but could not find the net.
BUFORD GIRLS 7
JOHNSON 0
Elexa Bahr recorded a hat trick and Kylie Buchanan and Brie Smith each had two goals as the Class AAAA fourth-ranked Lady Wolves routed Johnson.
It was the fifth consecutive shutout win for Buford (9-1, 6-0 Region 8-AAAA). The Lady Wolves have outscored their opponents 36-0 during the win streak.
Bahr also added an assist and Natalie Stevenson had two assists for Buford. Ambria Shutts, Kristen Edmond, and Sydney McCullough each had one assist for the Lady Wolves.
Buford led 4-0 at halftime and never let Johnson (2-7-1, 2-3) get back in the match.
Hannah Hodge, despite allowing seven goals, played well in goal for Johnson. Hodge was under constant assault and registered 30 saves for the game.
It was a tough for the Lady Knights, who came into the contest in sixth place in region, one-half game out of fourth place.
Johnson next will play host to Chestatee on Friday. Buford next will play host to North Oconee on Friday.
Sunday
January 26th, 2025
1:47AM
