Girls soccer: State powers Harrison, GAC fall short of quarterfinals

Harrison and Greater Atlanta Christian became the biggest names yet to fall out of the girls soccer state playoffs when they were eliminated Tuesday in the second round.

Harrison, the defending champion in Class AAAAAA and the No. 2-ranked team coming into this year’s tournament, saw its season end with a 1-0 loss to Alpharetta, the No. 4 seed from Region 7-AAAAAA. Jenna Horton’s goal with 2:03 remaining extended the season for the Raiders, who beat Region 8 champion Dacula in the first round. Alpharetta will host Grovetown, the fourth seed from Region 3, in the quarterfinals this weekend. Alpharetta and Grovetown are the only No. 4 seeds remaining in any classification.

Greater Atlanta Christian, the No. 3-ranked team in Class AAA, was eliminated by second-ranked Lovett 3-1 in overtime. GAC trailed for much of the game but got the tying goal from Paige Scheipe with 16:45 remaining. However, Lovett’s Schuler Simons and Gabby Elve scored in the overtime periods to give the Lions the victory.

Overall, 39 of the 56 region champions are still alive heading into the quarterfinals. The bracket holding truest to form is Class AA, where Elbert County is the only team remaining that is not a region champion. Elbert, the No. 2 seed from Region 8, advanced with a 10-0 victory over Spencer, which had knocked off Region 6 champ KIPP Atlanta in the first round.

*Quarterfinal matchups:

Class AAAAAAA

(R3 #1) Hillgrove at (R7 #1) Parkview

(R4 #1) Lassiter at (R8 #1) Grayson

(R4 #3) Roswell at (R5 #1) Milton

(R4 #2) Walton at (R1 #1) Tift County

Class AAAAAA

(R3 #1) Lakeside-Evans at (R7 #1) Johns Creek

(R3 #4) Grovetown at (R7 #4) Alpharetta

(R3 #2) Greenbrier at (R7 #2) Pope

(R2 #1) Glynn Academy at (R6 #1) Creekview

Class AAAAA