FPD’s quest down to one final week

As a defensive-minded head coach, Josh Trieste couldn’t be much happier with FPD’s goals-against figure this season.

Twenty-one games into the season, the FPD girls soccer team has yielded one goal. And while that goal came against rival Stratford, it was a goal that came after FPD had put a couple of its own on the board.

The crazy thing is, that 0.05 goals-against average might not be the most impressive statistic this year’s Vikings squad has produced.

Heading into Tuesday’s 6 p.m. GHSA Class 1A home semifinal against Paideia, FPD is scoring goals at a faster clip than in past years and is doing so with a more diverse collection of scorers.

“We started out the first of the year, I knew we had some special players,” Trieste said. “As coaches, it’s nice when the main thing you have to worry about is where to put them and how to get them to jell together. From the start of the season, we figured out we had girls who could play lots of of places. We were able to try a few different lineups, and even now we’re able to mix it up a little bit.

“We’re just dangerous in different ways in different lineups.”

FPD, ranked No. 2 in Class 1A by Eurosport Scoreboard and Score Atlanta, has scored 133 goals this season, an average of 6.3 per contest. The Vikings scored 10 or more goals nine times, with games called at halftime or in the second half once a team achieves a 10-goal lead.

The scoring outburst comes from a change in strategy Trieste implemented. FPD’s playing style was revamped, with strikers given more freedom to attack offensively as opposed to getting locked down in a defensive, ball-control type of game.

FPD already had aggressive play in the middle of the field, with center midfielder Kate Patterson returning for her senior season after a highly successful playoff run as a sophomore and a junior year in which her scoring was held in check as she was heavily marked. Turning the strikers loose, however, led to higher scoring for a number of players, including Patterson.

“We realized we had a lot more attacking (power),” Patterson said. “Our back four is doing super well, so we’re just moving more toward the attack, and that’s helping our scoring and helping us get success.”

A win Tuesday sends FPD to Five Star Stadium, where the Vikings would meet the Wesleyan-Holy Innocents winner in the Class 1A final at noon on Friday. Paideia does have a win over Holy Innocents and held its own in a two-goal loss to top-ranked Wesleyan.

Paideia (13-5-3) is unlisted in the final Score Atlanta rankings but is fourth on the Eurosport Scoreboard list.

“We have a big, physical team, and we have up to six players who can come off the bench who can give that same type of effort,” senior midfielder Emma Lako said. “We’re really excited about what’s coming up.”

Class 2A

Both Lamar County and East Laurens are hunting for spots in Saturday’s Class 2A girls final at Five Star Stadium.

Lamar County (17-4) hosts St. Vincent’s at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, the same time East Laurens (18-2-1) pays a visit to Social Circle.

Hailey Hadsell scored twice in the second half Friday, including the go-ahead goal on a free kick from roughly 35 yards out, as Lamar County topped Harlem 3-1. Goalkeeper Ashley Haddock also came up with a critical block of a penalty kick.

East Laurens beat Glenn Hills 4-2 in the quarterfinals.

St. Vincent’s (16-1) is ranked first in Class 2A by Eurosport Scoreboard, with Social Circle (10-6-2) second, Lamar County third and East Laurens fourth. St. Vincent’s also topped the final Score Atlanta Class 2A rankings, with East Laurens fourth, Lamar County sixth and Social Circle unranked.

GHSA championship schedule

The GHSA released its soccer championship schedule Monday, announcing which classifications will play at Five Star Stadium and which will play at McEachern’s Cantrell Stadium in Powder Springs.

Five Star Stadium will host Class 1A, Class 2A, Class 5A and Class 6A competition. McEachern will host the Class 3A, Class 4A and Class 7A finals.

Class 1A (noon girls, 2:30 p.m. boys) and Class 5A (5 p.m. girls, 7:30 p.m. boys) championships will take place Friday at Five Star Stadium, with Class 2A (noon girls, 2:30 p.m. boys) and Class 6A (5 p.m. girls, 7:30 p.m. boys) finals taking place Saturday.

At McEachern, Class 3A finals (5 p.m. girls, 7:30 p.m. boys) will take place Friday, with Class 4A (noon girls, 2:30 p.m. boys)and Class 7A (5 p.m. girls, 7:30 p.m. boys) championships slated for Saturday.

This story was originally published May 8, 2017 at 6:56 PM with the headline "FPD’s quest down to one final week."