SOCCER: Trinity boys cruise past Ga. Christian, into GIAA semifinals

It was derby day, and both teams were fittingly off to the races as soon as the gates opened in Saturday afternoon’s GIAA playoff match at Cleve Warnock Field. 

Trinity and Georgia Christian, at a galloping pace of play, traded six goals in the first 20 minutes, and scored a dozen total over the full 80 as the two matched up for a spot in this week’s state semifinals. 

It remained a neck-and-neck race for much of the first half, but down the stretch, the Crusader boys would easily outrun the Generals in a 9-3 victory to remain undefeated and clinch a berth among the last four in the running for the state soccer title for a second-straight year. 

Top-seeded Trinity (14-0 overall) will be back at home as it faces Gatewood for a third time this season, after pounding the Gators 11-1 in Eatonton and 9-1 at home on separate ends of its regular-season schedule, in Tuesday’s semifinal. The Lady Crusaders, also playing for a spot in the weekend’s state title game at Stratford, will be on the road battling 2023 AA state champion Westminster Christian, of Watkinsville, Wednesday night. 

Wade Register, who topped his single-game career mark with four goals on the afternoon, helped Trinity win the quick sprint to be first on the scoreboard. 

He planted a header in the back right of the net, off a Will Geoge lob to the back of the box on the second of back-to-back corner kicks, to put the Crusaders up 1-0 with only 90 seconds gone. 

He’d go on to complete his third hat trick of the season with two more in the first 15.

But first it was Georgia Christian’s turn to score a quick one, after another 90 second interval, as James Frazier created a breakaway and dribbled one clear of a sliding Trinity keeper Gene Hu, who rushed toward the top of the box in an unsuccessful attempt to cut him off before zeroing in on goal. 

Frazier kept control of it and bumped in an uncontested shot to make it 1-1. 

The Crusaders answered to go on top for good only a moment later, this time on a Ben Castro-Poveda throw-in from the left side that only slightly cleared the head of Register just in front of the goal. Jagger George got a piece from his right to knock the ball down, and Register went to the right foot to clean it up. 

He’d score the third in the 14th minute, off a long play that worked the ball toward the right for Josh Mosley, whose quick touch back toward the middle set up the trailing Register for a shot that found its way inside a crease to the left. 

Georgia Christian kept up the torrid pace of scoring with a goal to make it 3-2 at the 23-minute mark, as Wyatt Root dribbled it through a slide tackle going full-tilt, and hit a 15-yard shot from the right. 

Two minutes later, Trinity’s Will George blistered a 20-yard line-drive inside the left post, in similar fashion to Register’s last, to answer. And it was all Crusaders the rest of the way to the half. 

Jag George, en route to his first career hat trick, fought in a first of two before the break with 13 minutes left on the clock off a throw-in. He’d score again off the assist of his older brother on a free kick that curled into the left of the box for him to punch in with seven left before intermission. 

Trinity added to the 6-2 lead only three minutes into second half, as Will George cornered one into the box for a Mosely header finish. 

GCS was yet again quick to respond with 36 minutes to go, on a long assist by Root to the left of the box that Jake Kilcrease side-kicked in. 

It would cut the Trinity lead to 7-3, and briefly get the Generals back within sniffing distance. 

But the Crusaders put it squarely away with two in the last 21 minutes, a first on another Will George corner back to the hammer, Register, for a fourth time on a backside header. 

Jag George scored the finale, on a twisting header from the left-side cross of Thomas Polhill, with 12 minutes remaining. 

Will George finished the match with four assists, Castro-Poveda had two.