If you want playoff drama in the final week of the regular season, you won’t find any among the regions that house northeast Georgia area girls soccer teams.
A dozen teams already have qualified for the postseason across all eight Georgia High School Association classifications. All but three slots across the eight regions have been claimed.
Two teams -- Buford in Class 7A and Jefferson in Class 5A -- will head into the playoffs ranked No. 1. The Lady Wolves (8-7A) and Lady Dragons (8-5A) both cruised to region titles while Cherokee Bluff, ranked sixth in Class 4A, also clinched a region title in Region 8-4A.
However, three others can still clinch region titles this week.
Habersham Central in Region 8-6A can clinch with a win over North Forsyth on Tuesday while fifth-ranked Lumpkin County will need some help in Region 7-3A.
The Lady Indians (9-1-1, 4-1 Region 7-3A) must beat Pickens (4-7, 1-4 Region 7-3A) and have No. 1-ranked Wesleyan (11-1-1, 4-0 Region 7-3A) drop its final two games, both on the road, to Gilmer and White County. But both Lumpkin County and Wesleyan have secured the top two seeds in the region.
And Rabun County, ranked ninth in Class A Division 1, is battling No. 7 Tallulah Falls for the 8-A D1 crown. The two teams, who will close out the regular season on Thursday in Tallulah Falls, already have clinched the top two spots. The Lady Wildcats (8-3-1, 8-1 Region 8-A D1) beat the Lady Indians (9-4, 8-1 Region 8-A D1) last month in their first meeting.
In Region 8-6A, Habersham Central (11-2, 10-1 Region 8-6A) will need a win over North Forsyth (6-8-2, 5-6 Region 8-6A) to secure the title outright. Jackson County (10-4-1, 8-2 Region 8-6A) can force a tiebreaker with Habersham if the Lady Panthers can win their final two matches over Lanier and Apalachee and get a Habersham loss to North Forsyth.
North Forsyth trails both Gainesville (11-5, 6-5 Region 8-6A) and Lanier (8-8, 6-5 Region 8-6A) for one of the final two spots. North Forsyth will have to find a way to beat Habersham and then get some help from either Gainesville or Lanier.
In Region 8-4A, Johnson (10-3-1, 8-2 Region 8-4A) is set as the third seed.
In Region 7-3A, after Wesleyan and Lumpkin County, Dawson County (11-3, 4-2 Region 7-3A) and White County (6-6, 3-2 Region 7-3A) have claimed the final two spots.
In Region 8-2A, East Jackson (4-6-1, 3-2 Region 8-2A) clinched the third seed.
Towns County in Region 8-A Division 2 will be the No. 3 seed.
(See the entire schedule for Tuesday below.)
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SOCCER SCHEDULE FOR Tuesday, April 9
(All games start at 5:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted)
Apalachee at Gainesville*
Banks County at Lumpkin County
Cherokee Bluff at Mill Creek
Commerce at Winder-Barrow
Dawson County at Creekview
East Hall at Seckinger*
Franklin County at Chestatee
Forsyth Central at East Forsyth
Jackson County at Lanier*
Johnson at Flowery Branch
North Forsyth at Habersham Central*
St. Pius at Buford
Stephens County at West Hall
Union County at White County
(* -- denotes region contest)
