It is a light schedule but potentially an important night on the pitch for Northeast Georgia-area teams on Tuesday night.
A dozen ranked area teams, boys and girls, will be in action with several looking to either maintain or improve their playoff positioning within region play.
The biggest showdown of the night will be at Lynn Cottrell Complex as the Class 4A No. 1 Johnson boys head to No. 4 Chestatee. The Knights (10-0, 4-0 Region 8-4A), who are ranked No. 2 in Georgia in the All-Class poll, need a win to keep pace with No. 7 North Oconee (6-2, 5-0 Region 8-4A) while the War Eagles (10-2, 6-1 Region 8-4A) can claim the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win and put themselves in the driver's seat for the region title. It is also a huge match for the Copa 985 standings as well. No. 8 East Hall (8-2, 4-1 Region 8-4A) travels to East Forsyth (6-3, 3-2 Region 8-4A) with both teams eyeing the fourth spot in the standings.
No. 7 Gainesville (9-2, 5-1 Region 8-6A) will play host to Jackson County (6-6, 2-5 Region 8-6A) needing a win to stay within striking distance of No. Lanier (10-0-1, 6-0 Region 8-6A) in the standings.
On the girls side, Class 7A top-ranked Buford (9-1, 4-0 Region 8-7A) travels to Dacula (1-5, 0-2 Region 8-7A) looking to maintain a slim lead over Mill Creek in the standings. In Region 8-6A, No. 10 Jackson County (9-3, 7-0 Region 8-6A) travels to Gainesville (3-8, 1-5 Region 8-7A) with a chance to put more distance between the rest of the field. The Lady Raiders beat the Lady Red Elephants last month in their first meeting.
In Region 7-3A, Class 3A No. 2 Dawson County (9-0-1, 1-0 Region 7-3A) heads to Gilmer (3-2-1, 0-1 Region 7-3A) looking to keep pace with Wesleyan atop the region. Also in Region 7-3A, No. 8 White County (8-4, 0-1 Region 7-3A)travels to Pickens (1-4, 0-2 Region 7-3A).
In Region 8-A Division 1, the No. 2-ranked Commerce girls (9-1, 6-0 Region 8-A D1) will play host to No. 8 Tallulah Falls (7-2, 4-1 Region 8-A D1) in what will probably determine the region champion.
In a huge Copa 985 match, Class 5A 10th-ranked Flowery Branch (9-1) plays host to Class 6A Habersham Central (8-2) for the lead in the Copa standings.
(Check below for the full schedule of soccer matches on Tuesday.)
HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER SCHEDULE
Tuesday, March 14
(All matches start at 5:30 p.m. with girls unless otherwise noted)
Buford at Dacula*
Dawson County at Gilmer, 5 p.m.*
East Hall at East Forsyth*
Habersham Central at Flowery Branch (Copa 985)
Jackson County at Gainesville*
Johnson at Chestatee (Copa 985)*
Tallulah Falls at Commerce, 5 p.m.
White County at Pickens*
(* -- denotes region contest)
