After years of coming oh so close to the championship, Pike County is taking the 2A girls’ soccer state championship trophy back to Zebulon. The Pirates proved the GHSA’s new rankings formula correct, being a questioned No. 1 seed with many thinking that teams like Columbus or Savannah Arts were more deserving.
However, 38 playoff goals and five victories proved the doubters wrong.
Pike County had by far its best season in recent memory, going 20-2, with the team’s only two losses coming to ranked 5A schools Alexander and McIntosh. The Pirates ended the season on an 11-game winning streak. In that time, they outscored their opponents 85-9, with five of those goals given up coming in the championship matchup. Overall, on the season, the team outscored its opponents 146-12, a staggering number that included 15 shutouts.
The team entered the playoffs on a hot streak and continued it all the way through, especially through the first four rounds. High-end teams such as Stephens County, Sonoraville, and Coahulla Creek were manhandled by the Pirates en route to 8-2, 8-1, and 6-0 victories.
The championship was a hard-fought game, with the Pirates pulling out a 6-5 victory. The Pirates never trailed, but also were never able to build a comfortable lead. After two early goals by the Pirates, Savannah Arts answered with two of its own, tying it up 10 minutes into the game. With 25 minutes left in the first half, Pike took back the lead, 3-2. The team added another goal late in the half to take a 4-2 lead into the break. The Panthers answered nearly immediately in the second half with a goal to cut the lead to one. With 30 minutes left in the game, the Pirates scored another goal to extend their lead back to two, and just as before, Savannah Arts answered to cut it to a one-goal lead. The Panthers pulled back even with just under 13 minutes left to tie it up at 5-5. Just as it looked like the game might go into overtime, the Pirates found the game-winning goal with 4:42 remaining, giving them a 6-5 lead that they held until the end of the game.
The team will return much of its roster from this season, including three of the team’s top four scorers: freshman Jacey Fillingim, sophomore Sophie Moss, and sophomore Piper Jones. All three of them scored 18 or more goals this season, meaning the Pirates should be one of the favorites in 2A once again next season.
Loading ...
