Creek takes first step toward title repeat with 3-0 first-round win
Apr. 17—VARNELL — The defending Class 3A state champion Coahulla Creek High boys soccer team took its first step toward a repeat Wednesday.
The Colts defeated Region7-3A's fourth-seeded team, Lumpkin County, 3-0 Wednesday in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.
The Region 6-3A champion Colts got the benefit of an own goal to start the scoring, then led 2-0 for the majority of the game before a late-game goal finished off the visiting Indians.
Creek moves on to the second round, where the Colts will host Cedar Grove on Wednesday.
The scoring started with 30:24 left in the first half.
Coahulla Creek's Nathen Camacho was pushing an attack when a Lumpkin defender took possession. The Lumpkin player turned to play the ball back to the keeper, but he had already left the net to try to stop the ball himself. The ball trickled into the open net and put the Colts up 1-0.
Creek got a goal of its own making with 22:43 left in the first.
Cruz Barcenas played the ball in from a corner kick, and the ball batted around until Camacho headed the ball in for the goal.
The score stayed at 2-0 through halftime and until late in the second, but there were a handful of close calls.
Late in the first half, Lumpkin got three shots off on one chaotic possession. Keeper Diego Fraire saved a shot, then Barcenas kicked away a shot off a rebound. Fraire finally fell on the ball to end the possession.
Early in the second, Coahulla's Miguel Arredondo had a header redirect that was destined for goal, but the Lumpkin keeper made an adjustment to seize the shot. Fraire made another save on a Lumpkin shot midway through the second.
With 6:12 to go, Creek's Anderson Tobar put the game away.
He received a hit-ahead pass, tapped the ball wide to beat a diving keeper and then tapped the ball in for the third goal of the game.
Creek's second-round opponent, Cedar Grove, defeated Monroe Area 5-0 Wednesday. Cedar Grove is the second-seeded team from Region 5-3A.
