-
Anna Tatum, middle, celebrates with her teammates after setting the single season assist record Tuesady against Dawson County. Tatum had a pair of assists in the 10-0 win, gving her 14 on the season.(Photo/WCHS Soccer)
The high school soccer season is heading into the final two weeks of the regular season, and the White County Lady Warriors are in the hunt for a region championship.
The Lady Warriors (11-1) improved to 4-0 in 7-AAA and clinched a state playoff spot Tuesday night with a 10-0 win over Dawson County. The Warriors dropped a 2-0 decision to the Tigers in the nightcap of the region doubleheader.
The Lady Warriors, who are ranked No. 4 in this week's Class AAA state poll, are currently sitting atop the region standings with a 4-0 mark. Cherokee Bluff, the No. 3 team in the latest state poll, and Lumpkin County, the No. 5 team, are both 3-0.
The Lady Warriors take on Lumpkin County Friday night in Dahlonega in a huge matchup.
“It's a huge game,” WCHS head coach Megan Runkle said. “A lot of what we did in the Dawson game was to prepare for Lumpkin. We've clinched a playoff spot, but we don't want anything to do with third or fourth place. After tying for first place last year, we want to win it this year, and to do that after losing nine seniors would be amazing. We want to have home field advantage in the playoffs, which we've never really done, but to do that we have to win the region, so this game is huge for us.”
The Lady Warriors had very little trouble with the Lady Tigers on Tuesday, scoring five goals in each half to post the win.
Hazen Ramey pulled off a double hat trick in the win, scoring six goals, while also handing out an assist. Ramey now has 32 goals this season and is on pace to break the program's career scoring mark. Ramey has scored 70 goals in her career, and needs 10 more goals this season to tie Savannah McGill's school record of 80 goals.
Lily Gearing, Adelyn Knight, Reese Vandegriff, and Chloe Shea all had goals in the win. Shea, a senior, scored the final goal to end the game due to the mercy rule late in the second half. The goal was Shea's first goal of her career, and she also picked up her first career assist.
Anna Tatum also had a big night, handing out a pair of assists to set the single-season assist record. Tatum, a midfielder, has 14 assists this spring, breaking the mark of 13 set by Ramey and Leah Alexander last season.
Nealeigh Broadwell, Lilly Gann, Rachel Harris, Ramey, Shea, and Knight all recorded assists.
“The girls had some goals coming into the game,” Runkle said. “We thought it would be a high-scoring game for us, and the girls made it happen. Anna has played a big role in us being able to score a lot of goals this season. She's really a big part of our attack in the midfield”
On the boy's side, the Warriors battled the Tigers for 90 minutes, but Dawson scored a goal in the opening 45 minutes to take a 1-0 lead into halftime, and then added an insurance goal in the second to get off the field with a win.
The Warriors will be looking for their second win of the season, and their first region win, when they take on Lumpkin County Friday night.