BUFORD, Ga. — With a pair of defenses allowing just a combined 11 goals over 37 total games, a fast start was almost imperative for both Buford and Brookwood in their Class 6A quarterfinal showdown on Monday.
Unleashing their entire arsenal in the opening minutes, the Lady Wolves manufactured a quick score and then used that momentum to outlast the Lady Broncos 2-1 at home in a matchup of the top two ranked teams in Georgia.
“We try to play as fast as we can at all times,” Buford coach Megan Hill said afterwards. “We are a one and two-touch soccer team. We practice it a lot, and it was nice to see a lot of those things you're practicing come into play in a game. I thought we played very well as far as receiving the ball, playing it wide, and then getting in line (for shots).”
The win moved Buford (19-0) into Thursday’s semifinals. They will play host to West Forsyth, a 5-0 winner over North Paulding, in a rematch of last year’s Class 7A championship match won by the Lady Wolverines.
On Monday, the Lady Wolves went on the attack in the opening minutes, pushing nine of their ten players into the offensive zone to look for a score.
Twice in the first two minutes, they produced shots inside the 30, but both times, they were redirected by the Lady Broncos' defense. But in the third minute, they got what they were looking for, as Sophia Martelli was able to find the back of the net on a 20-yard blast for a 1-0 lead. That came off a counter after the Brookwood offense had counter-attacked the Buford defense and hit the crossbar moments before.
The Lady Broncos, who came in having scored 104 goals on the season, immediately went on the attack the rest of the half. Brookwood (19-1) had solid chances in the 21st, 22nd, and 27th minutes with shots by Hayden Barnett, Skylar Schroder, and Taylor Barnett all sailing high over Buford keeper Natalie Dinh.
Kaylen Brown, charged with patrolling the middle of the field, was a huge thorn in the side of the Brookwood offense. More than a dozen times the Buford senior midfielder chased down and won crucial battles to thwart potential Lady Broncos attacks.
“Kaylen is like our anchor in the middle of the field. She holds down the fort for us,” Hill said. “She was a big, strong body in the middle for us tonight.”
“We knew that their strongest players were the three strikers and the three forwards. So I had a more defensive-minded plan going into this game, and we did our job as the back five,” Brown said. “Their top three like to switch around and kind of play off each other really well. So I think just communicating in the back, knowing who has who, and just covering for each other was a big key for us.”
Buford nearly had a two-goal lead in the 29th minute when Natalie DeBella had a quick run down the right side, then a nifty cross to the far post. But Sabrie Vargas’s one-timer sailed just wide left.
Neither offense was able to generate much until Brookwood had a late flurry in the final three minutes of the half, on another Taylor Barnett shot sailing high, a direct kick, and a corner in the final 50 seconds that the Lady Wolves were able to turn away.
Brookwood came out firing to open the second half with three excellent scoring chances in the first seven minutes. But each time Dinh was able to deny the equalizer.
Buford then looked to have put things away in the 56th minute when Vargas blasted home a shot goal off a cross from DeBella for a 2-0 lead. But eight minutes later, Brookwood's Hayden Barnett punched in a shot following a scramble in front of the Buford goal off a corner kick with 16:36 left to cut the lead to 2-1.
"A 2-0 lead is the worst lead you could have in soccer. It's the worst," Hill said.
However, Brown and the Buford defense were able to hold Brookwood in check over the final 16 minutes. The Lady Broncos did get two corners in the final minute but Dinh was able to snare the final shot with 10 seconds left and Buford ran out the clock to preserve the win.
“Brookwood is a phenomenal team, and we just couldn't put them away until the very end,” Hill said. “I thought tonight's matchup was just unbelievable. Just a great competitive game. Very happy we were able to come out with the win for sure.”
Brown, who was on last year's team that lost 2-1 (7-6 in PKs) to West Forsyth, said they haven't forgotten.
"That one hurt. We definitely would like another shot at them." Brown said.
This time, they will get them on their home turf.
