On February 5th, 2021, the SFHS Varsity girls faced off with the girls soccer team at Johns Creek High School. The weather was cold and windy, but despite the unfavorable conditions, both teams fought hard for a win in the game. 

When Johns Creek played the ball at kickoff, each team burst into action. The beginning was a bit frantic with both teams adjusting to their opponent’s method of attack. Shortly after kickoff, at the 36-minute mark, Johns Creek passed the ball up the field to the SFHS goal, but the pass was too hard and the ball appeared to be heading quickly out of bounds. Out of nowhere, Johns Creek player #18 sprinted by the defense and stopped the ball right before it rolled out of bounds. The player then cut the ball towards the goal and shot, but the SFHS keeper blocked it. After this play, the War Eagle defense kept a close eye on player #18 and made sure to follow every stray ball until it was officially out of bounds. 

Peyton Goolsby, the forward for South, had a breakaway at the 31-minute mark and took a shot, but the Johns Creek keeper blocked. A few minutes later, Goolsby had another sprint down to the right-hand corner on the Johns Creek half of the field. She then crossed the ball to midfielder Maren Walker, but the keeper blocked again. 

At the 26-minute mark, Johns Creek chased down a ball toward the SFHS goal that was heading quickly out of bounds. SFHS defender Caitlyn Foote raced beside the forward to get there first. The Johns Creek player, #18 again, was impressively fast and stopped the ball on the line a second before Foote. She then cut the ball hard toward the goal and scored with a shot to the upper-right corner. 

As the game continued, both teams revealed impressive qualities. Johns Creek was able to move the ball with ease, using their keeper and defense to work the ball back up each time the ball came to their side of the field. Meanwhile, the War Eagles kept up a strong attack by consistently pressuring every ball and intercepting many passes.

At the 21-minute mark, the South keeper made a dangerous play, leading to another score for Johns Creek. The keeper dropped the ball off for the right defender, but when played out of the box, a Johns Creek player who was lingering near the box intercepted the pass, took the shot, and scored. Despite the growing scores for Johns Creek, South did not give up. In response, the War Eagles increased their pressure and speed on the field to prevent the Johns Creek team from advancing further. 

As the game continued, center defender Sage Smith held the defensive line. She continuously cleared stray balls out of the box, proving to be an integral part of the team. However, despite her dedicated efforts, Johns Creek was able to break through the defense and score again at the 11-minute mark. 

The goal lit a fire in the War Eagle team, and at the 9-minute mark, the offensive players for South broke through Johns Creek’s defense. They passed cleanly around the defensive line for Johns Creek until Ally Bridwell found an opening and took a shot, but Johns Creek blocked. 

At half-time, the score was 5-0 for Johns Creek, with their forward, #18, scoring three of their goals. As the teams came back onto the field for the second half, you could see that the War Eagles were ready to go. The players jumped up and down and ran in place as they waited for the whistle to start again. During the second half, South held a strong defensive line and Johns Creek was only able to score again with a lucky breakaway. The rest of the game was a constant battle with both teams sharing fairly equal possession until the ref blew the final whistle. 

The end score was 6-0, Johns Creek. Despite South losing the game, they still deserve a round of applause for their will to keep fighting.

Goolsby shared her thoughts afterwards. “Even though we had a tough loss against Johns Creek, this team was very talented, and we had a lot of competing talent. I feel great working with our new team, and the game was just working on a new formation for us, and ultimately creating chemistry. The first few games have been a learning experience, but it has all started to come together after we took our first win on Tuesday night. I’m looking forward to the rest of this season, and I think now we’re prepared and ready for whatever challenges are presented to us in each game.” 

As for any future games, make sure to cheer on the War Eagles where they are sure to regain their footing and crush their opponents. Access to the game schedule for the SFHS Varsity Girls soccer team can be found here.