Thomas Aquinas, Paideia Girls, Atlanta International and Georgia Military Boys Win Soccer Championships

Opening day of the GHSA football championships features the Class A Division I and II championships at Mercer in Macon and McEachern in Powder Springs.

Follow the link to the boys or girls brackets to see how each team qualified for the title games and check out the recaps below.

Class A Division II Girls

Thomas Aquinas 2, Lake Oconee Academy 1

It took half scoring and half holding in a war of attrition for Aquinas to defend last season’s title against top-ranked Lake Oconee Academy. But a goal from junior Elle Morris proved to be the victory.

“It means so much to these girls,” Aquinas head coach Melissa Minton said. “We are super excited. These first year girls, we are so proud of them. And our seniors simply deserve this victory.

The Fightin’ Irish took a 1-0 lead on a Mary Jane Knight goal with 30:28 left in the first half, but Lake Oconee responded with a Jane Monachello goal a few minutes later to put the game away at 1-1.

“It just depends on who wants it more,” Minton said. “Lake Oconee is a great program and they have very good players and play very hard. Our girls have just conditioned well and practiced well and I guess they’re just not as tired.

Morris’ goal with 7:14 left in the first half gave Aquinas the lead for good, securing the program’s second championship. Lake Oconee was trying to win a first championship as part of the program.

Class A Girls, Division I

Paideia 8, Social Circle 1

It took very little time for Paideia to take control of the match in a Social Circle battle to win the Pythons’ fourth state title and first since 2013. And it took very little time for Olivia Colby to record a hat-trick while building momentum for Paideia. .

Junior midfielder, Colby scored just 20 seconds into the match to give Paideia the lead. Colby added another strike on a rebound after a missed clearance by Social Circle with 20 minutes remaining in the first half. She scored her third goal of the game with 16:12 left in the first half.

The Pythons extended the lead with a headed goal from Eva-Jean Young off an assist from Colby. Sophomore midfielder Camille McIlvoy extended the lead to 5-1 on a 20-yard bending kick that kissed the right post and into the net. A great goal.

Young, a senior forward, scored with 23 minutes left in the game to make it 6-1. A Colby penalty gave Paideia a 7-1 lead. Sophomore forward Suriyah Frame capped the scoring with a shot to the far post, putting the game even further out of reach.

Paideia won titles in 2000, 2001 and 2013 while Social Circle was attempting its second championship and first since 2022.

Class A Boys, Division I

Atlanta International 2, Paideia 0

It took two first-half goals coupled with a stifling defensive effort to lift Atlanta International to the program’s third state championship in a rematch of last season’s championship game.

The Eagles took a 1-0 lead on a strike from junior Anthoine Jacob with 12:53 left in the half. Senior Nico Decoufle gave Atlanta International a 2-0 lead with 8:14 to play, giving the Eagles an insurmountable lead.

Paideia was trying to win the program’s sixth state championship and defend its title after beating Atlanta International 2-1 in the championship game last season.

Both programs rose to prominence around the same time, with Paideia winning the 2013 and 2014 Class A championships, its first, before Atlanta International won its first championship in 2015 in Class A.

Paideia regained the Class A title in 2016 and 2018 before the 2019 reclassification cycle. Atlanta International won the 2022 Class A private title last year before another reclassification cycle sent both programs to Division I Class A last season.

Class A Division II Boys

Georgia Military 4, Atkinson County 1

Two goals from star sophomore Tommy Carty provided Georgia Military with the offensive production it needed to secure the program’s third state championship.

Tommy Carty gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Sophomore Bennie Huff extended the lead to 2-0 with eight minutes left in the first half. Just before halftime, senior Brian Sherwood found the net to extend the lead to 3-0.

Atkinson County got on the board on a goal by Alan Castillo early in the second half, but the Rebels were unable to rally. Carty’s second goal was insurance, extending the lead to 4-1.

And after losing to Christian Heritage in last season’s championship game, 2-1, the Bulldogs have been goal-oriented all season on a return trip. The program won its first championship in 2019, missed 2020 due to the pandemic and won the 2021 championship. Atkinson County was attempting to win the program’s first-ever state championship.