By Chad Rhym – Senior Copy Editor
In the first round of the 8-AAAAA boys Georgia State Playoffs, the Dunwoody High School varsity soccer team traveled to Billy Henderson Stadium on May 2 to face off against the No. 1 seed: the Clarke Central High School Gladiators.
Both the Wildcats and Gladiators started the match off slowly, and as the first half came to a close, the two teams seemed evenly matched. The end of the half resulted in numerous shot on goal attempts, but neither side was able to score a goal. After the first half of play, the score was 0-0.
The Gladiators came out running in the beginning of the second period. Junior forward Gerardo Arteaga scored two consecutive goals at the 35 and 33 minute mark — both by evading the Wildcat defenders on breakaways.
“I was just really proud for getting two goals in a playoff game, and happy for my team because we took the lead and took possession the rest of the game,” Arteaga said.
To compliment Arteaga, senior midfielder Matthew Ward added a goal of his own with 17 minutes left.
After the Gladiator’s barrage of goals, the Wildcats were unable to catch up after falling behind three with the half winding down.
At the end of the match, the Wildcats were shut out by the Gladiators 3-0. CCHS will advance to the second round of the State Playoffs and will face Riverwood/Rome on May 6 at CCHS.
“It felt great winning the first round of the playoffs. The practices we had this week were more serious than any other practices,” senior defender Eddy Guiterrez said. “I had a feeling we were going beat Dunwoody because of the way we prepared and practiced for them and how we were playing (well) as a team this season.”
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