It has been nine years since the Gainesville boys soccer team last brought home a state championship. If they are to bring back the ultimate trophy on Saturday, it may well take the program's best-ever effort.
The Red Elephants (18-2-1) will take on No. 4-nationally ranked Dalton (22-0) in the Class 6A championship match at Cantrell Stadium at McEachern High School. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. following the Class 6A girls final.
Gainesville has shown remarkable resilience in the 2019 playoffs battling significant injuries to key players and a depleted roster. They took out defending state champion Chattahoochee in the second round (2-1) despite dressing just 13 players. They played an extra 15 minutes in Tuesday's thrilling 3-2 win over Cambridge (3-2 in PKs) while the Catamounts cruised to a 6-1 victory over Pope and rested many of their front-line players.
Dalton has steamrolled its competition in 2019 outscoring its opponents by a whopping 113-16 on the season.
CLASS 6A STATE FINALS, Saturday May 18
GAINESVILLE vs. DALTON
-- WHEN: 2:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Cantrell Stadium, McEachern High School, Powder Springs
-- COST/STREAM: $12 per day, available on GoFan. All matches will stream live to any device on NFHS Network
-- GAINESVILLE (18-2-1): Defeated Cambridge 3-2 (3-2 in PKs) in the semifinals
-- DALTON (22-0): Defeated Pope 6-1 in the semifinals
-- NOTABLE: The teams last met in the 2017 Class 6A semifinals, a 3-1 Gainesville victory at City Park Stadium. ... Dalton won three consecutive state titles from 2013-2015, the first two coming in Class 4A and the third in Class 5A. ... Gainesville's last state title came in 2010 in Class 3A. The Red Elephants also won the Class 2A state title in 1998. ... Gainesville lost in the 2017 state finals to Chattahoochee. ... The Catamounts are ranked 4th nationally by MaxPreps and have been dominating all season. They have outscored their opponents 113-16 on the season and have not allowed more than 2 goals in any match this season. They opened the season with 7 consecutive shutouts. ... The Red Elephants, ranked 24th nationally, have battled injuries all season and been without senior leaders Erick Serrato and Kelvin Turcios. But they are working on a 9-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1) and have exorcised two playoff demons in 2019. They knocked off defending state champion Chattahoochee, who beat them in the 2017 title match, in the second round and added last week's thrilling victory over Cambridge, who knocked them out in the semifinals in 2018. ... Gainesville has been solid all year defensively allowing 3 goals in a match just twice. They have yielded 1 goal or less 15 times with 8 shutouts with Eduardo Bautista in goal. ... The weak-link could be on offense where Gainesville is averaging just 2.95 gpg.
