FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – The Cherokee Bluff girls soccer team picked the perfect time to play its best.
The No.13-seeded Bears roll into the Class 3-A state semifinals after a 10-0 win over Gilmer in the quarterfinals on Monday at Yonah Field.
“It’s always special to go to the Final Four,” senior midfielder Genesis Gamez said. “As a team, you see each other every day at school. Every single day, you go to lunch together, and you take tests together. It’s priceless, honestly.”
Cherokee Bluff will meet Region 8-3A rival and top-seeded Jefferson, who beat eighth-seeded Dawson County 9-0 at home, with a trip to the state finals on the line on Thursday.
On Monday, the Lady Bears played a complete game, taking control of the match early.
“Coming out tonight, we played really loose,” Bluff Coach Heath Padgett said. “I could tell when they came into the room to eat. They were enjoying each other's company. It feels great going back to the Final Four. They’ve earned it. A lot of people counted them out early based on the results early. We knew all along what we had, and they put it together here at the end of the season.”
The Lady Bears (14-6) enter Thursday’s match having won 11 of their last 12 games. However, they struggled early, with several key players missing the start of the season.
“In the last four years I’ve been here, we have had missing pieces, especially at the beginning of the season,” Gamez said. “We have a bunch of dual sport athletes. So, the beginning of the year is sometimes very rough because we don’t see the big picture, even though our coaches always remind us of it. As the season goes on and progresses, we are able to see it come together, and it’s really a satisfying thing to see.”
Bristol Kersh scored six goals to lead the Lady Bears. Hayley Hunter, Gamez, Ashley Scott, and Addison Dovie all scored goals.
Cherokee Bluff raced out to a 5-0 lead, scoring two goals 1:28 apart just 6:02 into the game. Kersh scored her first goal, then Hunter made it 2-0.
Kersh scored three more times in the final 27 minutes of the first half. She drove a hard shot off the hands of the Gilmer keeper, then dribbled past three Bobcats for a goal. Her fourth goal came 1:07 before the half.
The Lady Bears controlled play with their midfielders Dovie, Gamez, Tyndal Brix, and Peyton McDaniel. Defenders Scott, Naomi Cornett, Ashley Cook, and Samantha Diaz played well in front of keeper Brooklyn Roberts, who recorded her second straight shutout.
In the second half, Gamez scored on a penalty kick. After two more goals from Kersh, Dovie ended the game with a goal
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