The Cambridge girls soccer team pulled off the biggest upset in the first round of the state playoffs when it knocked off second-ranked Northgate 2-1 in a Class AAAAAA game Thursday in Newnan.
Cambridge reached the Class AAAAA quarterfinals in 2016 but came into this first-round matchup as a No. 4 seed after finishing 4-4 in Region 7-AAAAAA (9-6 overall), with region losses to Pope, Alpharetta, Johns Creek and North Atlanta.
Northgate was 14-1-2 during the regular season, losing only to Class AAAAA No. 1 Whitewater and playing to draws against Pike County and Columbus at the end of the regular season. The Vikings went 8-0 in region play, outscoring their opponents 70-1.
Northgate reached the state semifinals last year and won the Class AAAAA championship in 2013.
Cambridge took a 2-0 lead in the first 30 minutes on a long shot by Ellie Chaffin and a penalty kick by Charlotte Teeter. Northgate cut the lead to 2-1 on a goal by Caroline Peters with about 22 minutes to play but could not pull even.
“They play in a very tough region,” Northgate coach Bryan Hicks told Doug Gorman of the Newnan Times-Herald. “It’s a tough draw because you would like to build as the playoffs go, but whenever you to go into a tough first-round game, anything can happen.”
Cambridge’s victory helped Region 7 complete a four-game sweep of Region 5 in the opening round. The other Region 7 winners were Johns Creek (10-0 over South Paulding), Alpharetta (7-0 over Douglas County) and Pope (6-1 over Alexander).
Cambridge will play at Lakeside-Evans on Tuesday in the second round.
Here’s a recap of the first-round action in the three highest classifications, most of which was played on Thursday and Friday:
*Finishing up: All first-round games in the seven classifications were completed by Friday night except for one. The Fayette County-Veterans match, originally scheduled for Thursday, was postponed because of storms in the Houston County area. The game has been rescheduled for Saturday at 8 a.m. Fayette County is the No. 4 seed from Region 3-AAAAA. Veterans was the Region 1 champion and is No. 3 in the Eurosport rankings. The winner will face Region 7 runner-up Rome in the second round.
*Higher seeds: The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds went 50-14 in the lower four classifications on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds fared better in AAAAAAA, AAAAAA and AAAAA, where the higher seeds were 31-16. Road teams won six of 16 games in Class AAAAAAA, six of 16 games in AAAAAA and four of 15 games in AAAAA. In all the classifications, nine No. 4 seeds advanced, and Fayette County could make it 10 on Saturday. Fayette County's Region 3-AAAAA is 3-0 in the first round.
*Region champions: Five more No. 1 seeds were eliminated on Thursday and Friday, joining the four that were knocked out earlier in the week. They included Northgate, Region 1-AAAAAAA champion Camden County (lost 3-1 to North Paulding), 2-AAAAAAA champion East Coweta (3-1 to Etowah), 8-AAAAAA champion Dacula (3-2 to Creekview) and 2-AAAAA champion Wayne County (4-2 to Dutchtown). Champions Northwest Whitfield, Jackson County, South Atlanta and Darlington had previously been eliminated.
*Looking ahead: The second round will feature two matchups of top-10 teams in Class AAAAAAA. Lassiter, ranked No. 4 by Eurosport and the 2016 champion in AAAAAA, will travel to eighth-ranked Grayson, the top seed from Region 8. Grayson won the state title in the highest classification in 2015. Fifth-ranked Walton, the champion from Lassiter's Region 4, will host third-ranked Peachtree Ridge. Walton is seeking its first state title since 1993, and Peachtree Ridge is seeking its first in school history.
*Scoreboard: Here are the scores for the first-round games in Classes AAAAAAA, AAAAAA and AAAAA as well as the second-round matchups for all seven classifications.
Class AAAAAAA
First-round scores
Peachtree Ridge 7, Rockdale County 0
Walton 8, Wheeler 0
Kennesaw Mountain 2, Lowndes 0
Lambert 4, Norcross 0
Mill Creek 4, Archer 1
Etowah 3, East Coweta 1
Marietta 3, Tift County 1
Brookwood 1, West Forsyth 0
Lassiter 7, Newnan 0
Grayson 1, North Gwinnett 0
Milton 1, Parkview 0
North Paulding 3, Camden County 1
Roswell 4, Campbell 1
Collins Hill 10, South Gwinnett 0
South Forsyth 4, Lakeside-DeKalb 0
Hillgrove 9, Colquitt County 0
Second-round games
(R6 #2) Peachtree Ridge at (R4 #1) Walton
(R3 #2) Kennesaw Mountain at (R5 #1) Lambert
(R4 #4) Etowah at (R6 #3) Mill Creek
(R3 #3) Marietta at (R7 #1) Brookwood
(R4 #3) Lassiter at (R8 #1) Grayson
(R3 #4) North Paulding at (R5 #3) Milton
(R4 #2) Roswell at (R6 #1) Collins Hill
(R5 #2) South Forsyth at (R3 #1) Hillgrove
Class AAAAAA
First-round scores
Sequoyah 4, Apalachee 0
Tucker 3, Brunswick 2
Lakeside-Evans 5, Valdosta 0
Cambridge 2, Northgate 1
Allatoona 1, Lanier 0
Richmond Hill 10, Forest Park 0
Greenbrier 2, Houston County 1
Johns Creek 10, South Paulding 0
Glynn Academy 10, Stephenson 0
Creekview 3, Dacula 2
Alpharetta 7, Douglas County 0
Lee County 2, Alcovy 1
Effingham County 10, M.L. King 0
Harrison 7, Habersham Central 0
Pope 6, Alexander 1
Heritage-Conyers 3, Coffee 0
Second-round games
(R6 #2) Sequoyah at (R4 #1) Tucker
(R7 #4) Cambridge at (R3 #2) Lakeside-Evans
(R6 #3) Allatoona at (R2 #1) Richmond Hill
(R3 #3) Greenbrier at (R7 #1) Johns Creek
(R6 #4) Creekview at (R2 #2) Glynn Academy
(R7 #2) Alpharetta at (R1 #1) Lee County
(R2 #3) Effingham County at (R6 #1) Harrison
(R7 #3) Pope at (R3 #1) Heritage-Conyers
Class AAAAA
First-round scores
Grady 3, Loganville 0
Eagle’s Landing 2, Ware County 1
McIntosh 10, Warner Robins 0
Chamblee 7, Kell 1
Flowery Branch 1, Riverwood 0
Dutchtown 4, Wayne County 2
Starr’s Mill 3, Harris County 0
Paulding County 10, Southwest DeKalb 0
Locust Grove 2, Statesboro 1
Buford 8, North Springs 1
Rome 7, Arabia Mountain 0
(R3 #4) Fayette County at (R1 #1) Veterans
Union Grove 6, South Effingham 1
Decatur 6, Johnson-Gainesville 0
Carrollton 4, Cross Keys 0
Whitewater 10, Thomas County Central 0
Second-round games
(R6 #2) Grady at (R4 #1) Eagle’s Landing
(R3 #2) McIntosh at (R5 #1) Chamblee
(R4 #4) Dutchtown at (R8 #2) Flowery Branch
(R3 #3) Starr’s Mill at (R7 #1) Paulding County
(R4 #3) Locust Grove at (R8 #1) Buford
(R7 #2) Rome vs. Fayette County/Veterans winner
(R4 #2) Union Grove at (R6 #1) Decatur
(R7 #3) Carrollton at (R3 #1) Whitewater
Class AAAA
Second-round games
(R8 #3) Jefferson at (R4 #1) Woodward Academy
(R1 #3) Cairo at (R5 #1) LaGrange
(R8 #2) North Oconee at (R2 #1) Spalding
(R1 #2) Northside-Columbus at (R7 #1) Marist
(R2 #2) Mary Persons at (R8 #1) St. Pius
(R7 #2) Blessed Trinity at (R1 #1) Columbus
(R8 #4) Oconee County at (R2 #3) Howard
(R5 #2) Chapel Hill at (R3 #1) Richmond Academy
Class AAA
Second-round games
(R6 #2) Sonoraville at (R4 #1) Pike County
(R3 #2) Islands at (R5 #1) Westminster
(R6 #3) Bremen at (R2 #1) Pierce County
(R3 #3) Southeast Bulloch at (R7 #1) Greater Atlanta Christian
(R6 #4) Adairsville at (R2 #2) Long County
(R5 #3) Lovett at (R1 #1) Worth County
(R8 #2) Peach County at (R6 #1) Calhoun
(R5 #2) Pace Academy at (R3 #1) Savannah Arts
Class AA
Second-round games
(R8 #3) Elbert County at (R4 #1) Harlem
(R1 #3) Berrien at (R5 #1) Lamar County
(R8 #2) Oglethorpe County at (R2 #1) St. Vincent’s
(R1 #2) Thomasville at (R7 #1) Model
(R2 #2) Vidalia at (R8 #1) Social Circle
(R7 #2) Dade County at (R1 #1) Fitzgerald
(R8 #4) Putnam County at (R4 #2) Glenn Hills
(R5 #2) Callaway at (R3 #1) East Laurens
Class A
Second-round games
(A6 #2) Paideia at (A4 #1) Atlanta International
(A1 #3) Calvary Day at (A5 #1) Walker
(A8 #2) Lakeview Academy at (A2 #1) First Presbyterian
(A5 #4) Pinecrest Academy at (A1 #2) Savannah Christian
(A2 #2) Stratford Academy vs. (A8 #1) Wesleyan
(A5 #3) Mount Pisgah Christian at (A1 #1) Savannah Country Day
(A4 #2) Eagle’s Landing Christian at (A6 #1) Holy Innocents’
(A5 #2) Fellowship Christian at (A3 #1) Athens Academy
