Lakeside keeper Finn Marchisen (left) and Zach Martin (right) played key roles in the Vikings’ 3-1 Class 7A playoff win over Kennesaw Mountain at Adams Stadium. (Photo by Mark Brock)
Two goals in the final 12:17 of the game spurred the No. 3 ranked Lakeside Vikings to a 3-1 victory over the No. 9 ranked Kennesaw Mountain Mustangs in a Class 7A high school state soccer playoff game at Adams Stadium on Thursday night.
Kennesaw Mountain (12-5-7) tied the game at 1-1 off a carom with 24:41 to play and it took the Vikings (17-0-1) 12 minutes to respond.
The response came in similar fashion as Zach Martin corralled a carom after a shot by a teammate to score from the right side behind the goalie for a 2-1 Lakeside advantage with 12:17 remaining in the game.
Just over two minutes later Maddox Lyerla provided some insurance for the Vikings as he blasted a shot from the left side that glanced off a defender and over the goalie just under the crossbar to make it 3-1 with 10:12 to play in the match.
Kennesaw would not go away despite red cards given to the coach and a player in the final 12 minutes as a Mustang got loose on the right side of the net and hit a shot just wide as Kennesaw kept trying to press late.
Lakeside managed to control the ball pushing it back up the field to limit possession time for the Mustangs in waning moments to close out the victory.
The Vikings opened the game with a goal by Sam Newmyer off an assist by Brayan Zetina just seven minutes into the game to make it 1-0. The score would remain 1-0 until Kennesaw’s second half goal.
Lakeside moves into the Elite 8 with a trip to River Ridge set for Tuesday (April 26) with a time to be announced.
In other Class 6A boys’ action on Thursday, the Tucker Tigers (9-8-3) took No. 1 ranked Central Gwinnett (18-0-1) to the limit before falling 1-0 to end their season.
DCSD SOCCER STATE PLAYOFFS RESULTS
Monday, April 18
CLASS 7A GIRLS SECOND ROUND
No. 4 Dunwoody (16-3) 2, No. 7 Hillgrove (12-4-1) 1
Tuesday, April 19
AWAY GAMES
CLASS 7A BOYS SECOND ROUND
No. 1 Harrison (20-0) 5, Dunwoody (15-4-1) 0
NORTH DEKALB STADIUM
CLASS 6A GIRLS SECOND ROUND
No. 2 Chamblee (18-1-1) 10, Ware County (13-8-0) 0
Wednesday, April 20
AWAY GAMES
CLASS 6A GIRLS SECOND ROUND
No. 3 Lassiter (13-0-4) 3, Lakeside (12-5) 1
Thursday, April 21
ADAMS STADIUM
CLASS 6A BOYS SECOND ROUND
Lakeside (17-0-1) 3, No. 9 Kennesaw Mountain (12-5-3) 1
AWAY GAMES
No. 1 Central Gwinnett (18-0-1) 1, Tucker (9-8-3) O
DCSD SOCCER STATE PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
Monday, April 25
NORTH DEKALB STADIUM
CLASS 6A GIRLS THIRD ROUND
No. 10 West Forsyth (15-3) at No. 6 Dunwoody (16-3), 5:30 pm
CLASS 5A GIRLS THIRD ROUND
No. 3 McIntosh (15-1-2) vs. No. 2 Chamblee (18-1-1), 7:30 pm
Tuesday, April 26
CLASS 6A BOYS THIRD ROUND
No. 3 Lakeside (17-0-1) at No. 4 River Ridge (14-5-1), TBA