FLOWERY BRANCH — After rallying for a 2-1 win over No. 3 Columbus in the Class 4A semifinals on Tuesday, you would’ve thought that elation would be the theme of the hour for the No. 2-ranked Flowery Branch girls soccer team. After all, it marked a historic event for the Lady Falcons, who advanced to their first-ever state championship match with the victory.
Not necessarily so.
“To tell you the truth I think there was more a sense of relief than anything else,” Flowery Branch girls coach Anel Lilic said. “This was our third straight time into the semifinals and we weren’t able to get the win the last two years. You could almost see a weight lifted off them a little. I think it took some time for it to really sink in.”
Whether the Lady Falcons have been building to this particular season or have arrived late to the finals party, with just a three-day turnaround to Friday’s finals against St. Pius at Five Star Stadium in Macon, there’s little time for celebration or preparation. However, they may not have needed much of either.
The championship showdown is a rematch of the two teams’ early regular season showdown in Atlanta that ended in a 2-2 draw. And both teams come in red-hot and have been dominating in the process.
The Lady Falcons (18-2-2) are 15-0-1 in their last 16 matches and have outscored their opponents by a whopping 87-9 in that span. During the regular season and playoffs, they beat seven of the top 10 teams in the final Eurosport poll (April 24). They also have gone 11-0-1 against Class 4A teams in 2019.
The Lady Golden Eagles (16-3-2) have won 10 straight and have allowed just two goals, both to Blessed Trinity in a 3-2 win in the semifinals, and have scored 56 goals during that stretch. St. Pius beat five of the top 10 teams in the final poll.
However, Lilic said the key may be the changes the Lady Falcons have made since the two teams’ meeting in late February. The Branch is 17-1-1 after a 1-1-1 start to the season.
“We’re a much different team since then,” Lilic said. “We played a very tough schedule [six Class 7A teams, 3-2-1 record] and have changed our system to play to the strength of our roster. The schedule we put together was designed to challenge the girls. St. Pius has played the same style for years and they’re not going to change a whole lot of what they do.”
That strategy, perhaps more than on-field tactics, may be the underlying factor to the Lady Falcons getting over the proverbial hump of the semifinals.
“They have a different mindset this year,” Lilic said. “I think they feel they belong now among the elite programs of the state.”
However, the weight of the task also may have been a contributing factor to a slow start against Columbus. Flowery Branch fell behind 1-0 early on a fluke goal when Columbus scored from midfield on a knuckleball shot that somehow got past Mississippi State-signee keeper Hannah Pimentel.
“The first half, especially early, we didn’t have a lot of the composure we’ve been playing with, and their keeper was outstanding early,” Lilic said. “We could’ve scored four or five goals in the first half but she stopped everything we threw at her in the first 20 minutes or so.”
Larsyn Reid finally got Flowery Branch on the board scoring on a serpentine run through the Columbus defense and then burying a shot to tie the game. Mollie Langner got the eventual game-winner for the Lady Falcons later in the half. In the second half, they shut down the Lady Blue Devils, who came in averaging 9.0 goals a game in the playoffs.
St. Pius, who has won eight titles since 2009, the most recent coming in 2017 in Class 4A, is no stranger to the limelight. They fell in last year’s championship match to Marist.
In the regular season matchup, Flowery Branch held the lead nearly the entire way until St. Pius scored in the final minute to tie the match. Lilic said experience will be on the Lady Golden Eagles' side, but that they have talked about the human factor as well.
“I’m not real sure how this game will go. We’ll try to push, that’s our style, and I’m sure they’ll try to play their style,” he said. “Whichever team is able to control the ball and dictate the action will probably have the advantage.
“St. Pius has been in this game a lot over the years so they know what to expect and won’t be rattled much. But we told the girls that they’re not aliens or robots or anything like that. They have beating hearts like all of us and if we can get some early success that will go a long way.
“We’re going (to Macon) looking to win the game, no doubt. But we’re also extremely happy for the girls to finally get to this point. It’s been a few years in the making. It’s an exciting time for the girls and community and we want them to enjoy it.”
Bringing home the program’s first-ever state title would make it even more enjoyable for sure.
