The 5A lax season will close on Saturday afternoon as the Northview Titans face the Westminster Wildcats at 2:30 p.m. in the Westminster stadium. Although Northview prevailed 9-7 in the regular season matchup this should be a great battle of very balanced and well coached teams.
The Titans (19-2) are coming off an impressive 17-9 win over Lovett in the Semis, and they rolled over McIntosh and Pope by similar scores in the opening rounds. Northview burned through their Area 3 schedule unscathed, but, other than Blessed Trinity, the Area really didn't produce strong teams this season. Their only losses were 16-17 to Decatur and 8-11 to Lake Mary (FL). The Titans notched signature wins over Lambert (early in the season), Pope (twice), Westminster and Johns Creek. Their offense has been prolific: they've scored double digits in all but two games (9-7 over Westy and the loss to Lake Mary).
The Wildcats (17-4) are coming off a big win in the Semis with a 6-5 defensive battle over Decatur. Westminster fans will be cheering for a repeat of 2010 when they won Boys and Girls 'Ships on the same day. Westy rolled over Lakeside-Evans 19-1 and HIES 12-5 in the opening rounds. They were unbeaten against a strong Area 2 field this season, and all of their losses were to strong teams. After an opening 5-6 loss to Lassiter, they were also beaten by Northview 7-9, Decatur 7-10, and Lovett 5-6 in a 3OT thriller. Their signature wins included an impressive list of 6A teams in Harrison, Walton, Hooch, Alpha and Roswell, although they faced all of them earlier in the season before several seemed to improve significantly. Their strong early sched prepared them well for their Area battles, and the Cats haven't lost since mid April.
The key to this game will be whether Westminster can slow down the Titan's explosive offense, led by Attackmen Kevin Colton and Josh Porter along with Middie Matt Biondich. But if the 'Cats' goalie William Hudson has the kind of game he had against Decatur, and he gets strong play from Charlie Trense and other defenders, then this could be a close game like their previous meeting. Both of these teams are loaded with young talent, so this may be a strong rivalry for the next few years.
Friday, May 17, 2013
6A Championship Preview
The 2013 season will come to a close on Saturday night as the Lambert Longhorns visit the Centennial Knights for the 6A Championship Game at 7:30 p.m. It could be an historic night as the #1 and #3 seeds from Area 3 vie for the title. Although Centennial prevailed 13-8 in their regular season matchup, tomorrow's game looks to be a battle of teams that are peaking at just the right time.
The Knights are coming off a 13-11 victory over Harrison in the Semi-Finals in a game that many didn't expect to be that close. Centennial opened the playoffs by steamrolling E. Coweta 21-5 and passing a stern test from Lassiter 13-12. The Knights opened the season with a win over Harrison and never looked back. Their only loss to a GA team was to Milton 16-18. Their prolific offense has not been held to single digits this season and they are averaging 16.5 goals per game.
In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, the Longhorns would love to add a 6A title to their pair of 5A titles from the two previous years. Lambert made it through the Semis in fairly easy fashion by manhandling Roswell 17-6 on Wednesday. Their toughest test in the playoffs was an 11-10 battle over Milton after breezing by Hillgrove 14-1 in the opening round. It's been a month since Lambert last lost to Memphis University at Legacy Cup, so the Longhorns certainly have momentum going to the 'Ship.
It will be interesting to see how big of a factor the home field is, although the Longhorn fans certainly travel well. Also, both offenses are capable of pouring in the goals, so a stingy defense and a hot goalie could be the difference.
Since your GLB reporter was busy coaching this season I'm not going to break down the teams by position. Feel free to add your analysis in the comments section below.
The Knights are coming off a 13-11 victory over Harrison in the Semi-Finals in a game that many didn't expect to be that close. Centennial opened the playoffs by steamrolling E. Coweta 21-5 and passing a stern test from Lassiter 13-12. The Knights opened the season with a win over Harrison and never looked back. Their only loss to a GA team was to Milton 16-18. Their prolific offense has not been held to single digits this season and they are averaging 16.5 goals per game.
In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, the Longhorns would love to add a 6A title to their pair of 5A titles from the two previous years. Lambert made it through the Semis in fairly easy fashion by manhandling Roswell 17-6 on Wednesday. Their toughest test in the playoffs was an 11-10 battle over Milton after breezing by Hillgrove 14-1 in the opening round. It's been a month since Lambert last lost to Memphis University at Legacy Cup, so the Longhorns certainly have momentum going to the 'Ship.
It will be interesting to see how big of a factor the home field is, although the Longhorn fans certainly travel well. Also, both offenses are capable of pouring in the goals, so a stingy defense and a hot goalie could be the difference.
Since your GLB reporter was busy coaching this season I'm not going to break down the teams by position. Feel free to add your analysis in the comments section below.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
6A Semi-Finals Preview
It has been a crazy season in 6A, and I doubt anyone's pre-season picks looked quite like this Semis lineup. But there is no doubt that all four are peaking at the right time, so that should make for a very interesting evening.
We've been getting great reader input this week... keep it up. As always, your positive comments, analysis and predictions are welcome in the comments section below each post. Let's keep it positive... no running down any players, coaches or programs... we've had to moderate comments in the past at this point in the season. Honor The Game!
Here are the previews of today's action... your GLB reporter is a bit pressed for time, so give us your insights:
-- Harrison (11-8) @ Centennial (17-3) - 7:30 @ Centennial
These two have had very different seasons: Harrison got off to a very shaky start while Centennial looked like the frontrunner from the start. But both teams rolled through their respective Area scheds unscathed and powered through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The playoff path for the Hoyas started with wins over Johns Creek 12-7 and Walton 8-6, both of whom had beaten them earlier in the regular season. After starting the season 2-5, Harrison persevered and gained enough good form to go on a playoff run. They really didn't have quality wins until beating Toona in late April and those playoff wins.
Centennial opened the playoffs by steamrolling E. Coweta 21-5 and passing a stern test from Lassiter 13-12. The Knights opened the season with a win over Harrison and never looked back. Their only loss to a GA team was to Milton 16-18. Their prolific offense has not been held to single digits this season and they are averaging 16.5 goals per game.
The Hoyas defense is going to really have to come up big to stifle the Centennial offense at home.
-- Roswell (12-6) @ Lambert (14-6) - 8pm @ Lambert
The GLB research staff is checking the archives to verify this, but this GLB reporter feels certain that this is the first time a #3 seed has faced a #4 seed in the Semis. That is a real testament to the strength of competition in 6A... and proof that Area alignments leave a lot of shaking heads in 6A. But both of these teams have clearly earned their spots, and this should be a very entertaining tilt.
Roswell has really been tested by good teams in their opening playoff games, beating Mill Creek 7-6 and Hooch 14-13 in OT. Roswell opened their season with a 3-7 loss to Lambert, so they would love to end the Longhorn's season tonight. The Hornets best wins during the season were over Harrison and Etowah to lock up the #4 seed, so they will have their work cut out for them.
So this is what a rebuilding year looks like for the Longhorns... losing a strong Senior class, moving up to 6A and making the Semis. After looking somewhat vulnerable earlier in the season, the Longhorns have peaked at the right time. After trouncing Hillgrove 14-1 in the opening round, they bested Milton 11-10 to gain their Semis berth.
I'd give the edge on quality of schedule and quality of wins/losses to Lambert, but this game could go either way. Look for this to be relatively low scoring, likely in single digits.
We've been getting great reader input this week... keep it up. As always, your positive comments, analysis and predictions are welcome in the comments section below each post. Let's keep it positive... no running down any players, coaches or programs... we've had to moderate comments in the past at this point in the season. Honor The Game!
Here are the previews of today's action... your GLB reporter is a bit pressed for time, so give us your insights:
-- Harrison (11-8) @ Centennial (17-3) - 7:30 @ Centennial
These two have had very different seasons: Harrison got off to a very shaky start while Centennial looked like the frontrunner from the start. But both teams rolled through their respective Area scheds unscathed and powered through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The playoff path for the Hoyas started with wins over Johns Creek 12-7 and Walton 8-6, both of whom had beaten them earlier in the regular season. After starting the season 2-5, Harrison persevered and gained enough good form to go on a playoff run. They really didn't have quality wins until beating Toona in late April and those playoff wins.
Centennial opened the playoffs by steamrolling E. Coweta 21-5 and passing a stern test from Lassiter 13-12. The Knights opened the season with a win over Harrison and never looked back. Their only loss to a GA team was to Milton 16-18. Their prolific offense has not been held to single digits this season and they are averaging 16.5 goals per game.
The Hoyas defense is going to really have to come up big to stifle the Centennial offense at home.
-- Roswell (12-6) @ Lambert (14-6) - 8pm @ Lambert
The GLB research staff is checking the archives to verify this, but this GLB reporter feels certain that this is the first time a #3 seed has faced a #4 seed in the Semis. That is a real testament to the strength of competition in 6A... and proof that Area alignments leave a lot of shaking heads in 6A. But both of these teams have clearly earned their spots, and this should be a very entertaining tilt.
Roswell has really been tested by good teams in their opening playoff games, beating Mill Creek 7-6 and Hooch 14-13 in OT. Roswell opened their season with a 3-7 loss to Lambert, so they would love to end the Longhorn's season tonight. The Hornets best wins during the season were over Harrison and Etowah to lock up the #4 seed, so they will have their work cut out for them.
So this is what a rebuilding year looks like for the Longhorns... losing a strong Senior class, moving up to 6A and making the Semis. After looking somewhat vulnerable earlier in the season, the Longhorns have peaked at the right time. After trouncing Hillgrove 14-1 in the opening round, they bested Milton 11-10 to gain their Semis berth.
I'd give the edge on quality of schedule and quality of wins/losses to Lambert, but this game could go either way. Look for this to be relatively low scoring, likely in single digits.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
5A Semi-Finals Preview
We are down to the final week of the season and the last four standing have controlled their respective Areas all season long. All four of these front-runners are battle tested, balanced and well coached, so today's matchups should make for some great tilts.
We've been getting great reader input this week... keep it up. As always, your positive comments, analysis and predictions are welcome in the comments section below each post. Let's keep it positive... no running down any players, coaches or programs... we've had to moderate comments in the past at this point in the season. Honor The Game!
Here are the previews of today's action:
-- Lovett (15-4) @ Northview (18-2) - Both of these teams have been dominant through the opening rounds of the playoffs. Lovett rolled Fellowship Christian 18-6 and Toona 13-5, while Northview dominated McIntosh 17-6 and Pope 16-8. These teams didn't meet in the regular season, but both faced a strong schedule and fared well.
The Lovett Lions seem to have recovered from a headscratcher OT loss to Area foe Starr's Mill a few weeks ago, but they really haven't faced a strong team other than Toona since then. To further confuse things, the Lions topped 6A power Milton earlier in the same week they fell to Starr's. Their only other losses were to strong 6A teams in Hooch, Lambert and Lassiter. The Lions notched quality wins over Whitefield, McIntosh, Pope, HIES and Westminster.
The Northview Titans rolled through their Area 3 schedule unscathed, but, other than Blessed Trinity, the Area really didn't produce strong teams this season. Their only losses were 16-17 to Decatur and 8-11 to Lake Mary (FL). The Titans notched signature wins over Lambert (early in the season), Pope (twice), Westminster and Johns Creek. Their offense has been prolific: they've scored double digits in all but two games (9-7 over Westy and the loss to Lake Mary).
This should be a great game, and it will be interesting to see how Lovett's defense handles Northview. The Lions have played a slightly tougher schedule, but the Titans have dominated everyone they've faced since early April.
-- Westminster (16-4) @ Decatur (18-2) - These two have dominated the lower half of the playoff bracket: Westy rolled over Lakeside-Evans 19-1 and HIES 12-5 while Decatur similarly dominated Kell 20-4 and Blessed Trinity 13-6. They met previously in early April, with Decatur winning that game 10-7.
The Wildcats rolled through a strong Area 2 field this season, and all of their losses were to strong teams. After an opening 5-6 loss to Lassiter, they were also beaten by Northview 7-9, Decatur 7-10, and Lovett 5-6 in a 3OT thriller. Their signature wins included an impressive list of 6A teams in Harrison, Walton, Hooch, Alpha and Roswell, although they faced all of them earlier in the season before several seemed to improve significantly. Their strong early sched prepared them well for their Area battles, and the Cats haven't lost since mid April.
The Decatur Bulldogs followed last season's Semi Finals appearance with another strong season. Both of their losses were to very good teams: 6-14 to Lassiter and 4-13 to McCallie (TN). They again dominated a rather weak Area 4, but they also notched quality wins over Johns Creek, Hooch, Northview, Westy, Creekside (FL) and Riverwood. Most of their scores have been lopsided: they've held their opponents to single digits in all but 3 games, and they've only been held under 10 goals in 3 games as well.
Westminster has played the tougher schedule... Decatur's out of Area schedule included some mid-tier 5A teams. And the Cats have an interesting distinction of having lost to all 3 of the other Semi teams, but they are usually a tough team to best twice in a season. Decatur has built on last season's success to have a dominant season and look like the team to beat.
The GLB will have a full re-cap of this game, and we hope the readers will give us the deets from the other game.
We've been getting great reader input this week... keep it up. As always, your positive comments, analysis and predictions are welcome in the comments section below each post. Let's keep it positive... no running down any players, coaches or programs... we've had to moderate comments in the past at this point in the season. Honor The Game!
Here are the previews of today's action:
-- Lovett (15-4) @ Northview (18-2) - Both of these teams have been dominant through the opening rounds of the playoffs. Lovett rolled Fellowship Christian 18-6 and Toona 13-5, while Northview dominated McIntosh 17-6 and Pope 16-8. These teams didn't meet in the regular season, but both faced a strong schedule and fared well.
The Lovett Lions seem to have recovered from a headscratcher OT loss to Area foe Starr's Mill a few weeks ago, but they really haven't faced a strong team other than Toona since then. To further confuse things, the Lions topped 6A power Milton earlier in the same week they fell to Starr's. Their only other losses were to strong 6A teams in Hooch, Lambert and Lassiter. The Lions notched quality wins over Whitefield, McIntosh, Pope, HIES and Westminster.
The Northview Titans rolled through their Area 3 schedule unscathed, but, other than Blessed Trinity, the Area really didn't produce strong teams this season. Their only losses were 16-17 to Decatur and 8-11 to Lake Mary (FL). The Titans notched signature wins over Lambert (early in the season), Pope (twice), Westminster and Johns Creek. Their offense has been prolific: they've scored double digits in all but two games (9-7 over Westy and the loss to Lake Mary).
This should be a great game, and it will be interesting to see how Lovett's defense handles Northview. The Lions have played a slightly tougher schedule, but the Titans have dominated everyone they've faced since early April.
-- Westminster (16-4) @ Decatur (18-2) - These two have dominated the lower half of the playoff bracket: Westy rolled over Lakeside-Evans 19-1 and HIES 12-5 while Decatur similarly dominated Kell 20-4 and Blessed Trinity 13-6. They met previously in early April, with Decatur winning that game 10-7.
The Wildcats rolled through a strong Area 2 field this season, and all of their losses were to strong teams. After an opening 5-6 loss to Lassiter, they were also beaten by Northview 7-9, Decatur 7-10, and Lovett 5-6 in a 3OT thriller. Their signature wins included an impressive list of 6A teams in Harrison, Walton, Hooch, Alpha and Roswell, although they faced all of them earlier in the season before several seemed to improve significantly. Their strong early sched prepared them well for their Area battles, and the Cats haven't lost since mid April.
The Decatur Bulldogs followed last season's Semi Finals appearance with another strong season. Both of their losses were to very good teams: 6-14 to Lassiter and 4-13 to McCallie (TN). They again dominated a rather weak Area 4, but they also notched quality wins over Johns Creek, Hooch, Northview, Westy, Creekside (FL) and Riverwood. Most of their scores have been lopsided: they've held their opponents to single digits in all but 3 games, and they've only been held under 10 goals in 3 games as well.
Westminster has played the tougher schedule... Decatur's out of Area schedule included some mid-tier 5A teams. And the Cats have an interesting distinction of having lost to all 3 of the other Semi teams, but they are usually a tough team to best twice in a season. Decatur has built on last season's success to have a dominant season and look like the team to beat.
The GLB will have a full re-cap of this game, and we hope the readers will give us the deets from the other game.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
6A Playoff Discussions
Feel free to share your positive thoughts, predictions and analysis of the 6A Playoffs in the comments section below. You can view the brackets by clicking HERE.
5A Playoff Discussions
Feel free to share your positive thoughts, predictions and analysis of the 5A Playoffs in the comments section below. You can view the brackets by clicking HERE.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Week 10 - 5A Discussions
Like we did last season, we'll have a weekly general discussion thread for each division. This is the place to discuss the playoff picture and any other relevant topics. Please post your positive comments below:
Week 10 - 6A Discussions
Like we did last season, we'll have a weekly general discussion thread for each division. This is the place to discuss the playoff picture and any other relevant topics. Please post your positive comments below:
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Some Great Games Today
There is a full slate of good games today. Please add your analysis and insight in the comments section below:
-- Allatoona @ Etowah
-- Lovett @ Lassiter
-- HIES @ McIntosh - Big 5A Area 1 tilt
-- Pope @ Milton
-- Johns Creek @ Northview
-- Decatur @ Riverwood
-- Alpharetta @ Lambert
-- Allatoona @ Etowah
-- Lovett @ Lassiter
-- HIES @ McIntosh - Big 5A Area 1 tilt
-- Pope @ Milton
-- Johns Creek @ Northview
-- Decatur @ Riverwood
-- Alpharetta @ Lambert
Monday, April 15, 2013
Week 9 - 6A Discussions
Like we did last season, we'll have a weekly general discussion thread for each division. This is the place to discuss the playoff picture and any other relevant topics. Please post your positive comments below:
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