SOCCER: Trinity girls come up short in state semis, boys gear up for title match with Westminster Saturday

The first of Trinity’s two rematches with Westminster Christian this week didn’t turn out as hoped for the  Lady Crusaders, who visited the Lions of Watkinsville and fell 2-0 Wednesday night in the GIAA state soccer semifinals. 

Some slip-ups defensively led to a couple of difference-making WCA goals in either half, and Trinity came up empty on its threats to answer against goalkeeper Ellie Poe, who made key saves to turn away at least nine potential scores. 

“In a game that required us to bring our A game, we came up a good bit short,” Crusader head coach Aaron George said. 

The result makes the Lions 3-for-3 in matchups against Trinity teams since last May, when both their squads prevailed on penalty kicks in the state finals. 

Though the Lady Crusaders (14-4-1 overall) were denied a return trip, Trinity’s boys will get one remaining chance at redemption in the series as they battle the Lions in a second-straight AA championship match Saturday at Macon’s Stratford Academy. WCA’s girls will go for their repeat against Central Fellowship.  

The Lady Crusaders saw their best opening in Wednesday’s contest very early on, with some quality looks on attacks in the first 10 minutes that didn’t quite come together. 

A two-on-one run at goal in just the third minute got Trinity dangerously close to drawing first blood, as the dribbling Chloe Rozier zeroed in on a wide-open attempt that Poe whiffed at knocking away. Her deflection, while it didn’t clear the ball, did buy the Lions a few valuable seconds by forcing Rozier to go a few steps to her right to reposition. 

That was just long enough for an extra defender to scramble in and bump away her shot. Westminster recovered and was able to sweep the ball away before the Lady Crusaders could get another one off. 

More decent chances unfolded on ensuing trips down, as Trinity ran several set pieces in a row, but couldn’t line up a crosser in the right place. A Maddy George left-footer from close range threatened to curl into the top left corner, but Poe came in at the last second to nab it, as she would another long-range shot from near midfield a moment or two after. 

The Lions scored both their goals on high-trajectory shots, a first in the 12th minute of play from nearly 40 yards by Kate Rasmussen, on a long bounding ball that was slightly mis-measured.

Their second, nine minutes after halftime, was scored by Charity Lawhead from about 25 off a long rebound after Trinity blocked away and fought to clear an initial shot on goal. Hers, with a high, powerful fade, bent into the top of the net to make it 2-0. 

Margo Lawson had seven steals to lead Westminster defenders, who took the lead on preventing a Lady Crusader goal in the 30 remaining minutes, setting up a wall on the Lady Crusaders’ close-range free kick with 22 minutes left that – after a sequence of re-dos for encorachment – banged off the crossbar. 

Trinity was only able to get it close on a couple more freebies, both from 20-plus. One was blocked away and the other missed high. 

Following the match was another AA semifinal between Westminster’s boys and Central Fellowship, also a 2-0 Lion victory to advance to Saturday’s finals. 

The scouting opportunity, for George, only reaffirmed that the No. 2 overall seed will be a tough team to beat. 

“They are very well organized and do a good job of putting you in tough positions defensively, and they run their system very well,” he said. “I still think we have the ability to score on them, but this could be another 4-3, 5-4 type of game.” 

WCA and Trinity finished regulation and overtime in last year’s boys title match deadlocked at 3-3, the Crusaders coming back from a 2-0 deficit in the first half with goals by Henry Williams, Wade Register and Zane Shirley to take a 3-2 lead deep in the second.  

The Lions came up with an equalizer in the nick of time from John Donatelli, who stuck home a shot with six minutes left, and avoided a number of surefire threats in the remainder of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime to force a penalty kick shootout. 

Trinity was, at several points, either a made shot or save away from winning it outright, after putting each of its first three PKs in the back of the net. But Westminster rallied back to even the count at 3-3, and combined its make with a Crusader miss in a round of sudden-death to steal the win. 

The core of the roster returned for both teams this spring, through which Trinity has remained undefeated through 15 matches. The Lions, who have dropped just two of their 16 to date, play the same style of regimented soccer they did a year ago. 

“They like to spread the ball around,” George said. “They have a guy in the middle who has 37 goals. He was the player of the year last year. And they run a good system. They kind of pick you apart, triangles all over the field, try to get in behind you, and they’ve got a solid keeper.” 

Trinity expects to go at the match with the same aggressive attack that’s overwhelmed most teams it’s come up against this season, including semifinalist Gatewood in a 9-0 win to advance on Tuesday night. 

If the Crusaders can play their best soccer, and improve on some areas where their performance earlier in the week was a touch shaky, George expects another match that finishes at the wire, and that his group will have every shot to win. 

This time, they hope to be able to close the deal.

“We’re as direct as they come,” he said. “We have the ability to sprinkle in some runs in the middle with Wade and Will when they’re able to find the open man. But it’s going to take all of us, our subs, everybody, executing. Hopefully it’s not another outcome like last year. Hopefully we’re on the other side.”

Kickoff from Stratford’s Hutchinson Soccer Complex is set for 2:30 p.m.