How a dominating Richmond Hill girls soccer team is looking to go deep in the playoffs
The Richmond Hill girls soccer team has been one of the strongest squads in the Coastal Empire over the last few years as the Wildcats have won three straight region championships while advancing to the state quarterfinals three years in a row.
This year's team has dominated as the Wildcats, playing in the state's highest classification of 7A, rolled through Region 1-7A play with an 8-0 record. Richmond Hill tested itself with a tough non-region schedule and passed with flying colors as the squad closed out the regular season last week with a pair of 3-0 wins at Savannah Arts (14-4) and against Glynn Academy (14-2-1).
Richmond Hill enters the playoffs with a 15-0-2 record as the Wildcats are set to host South Gwinnett (11-6) in a Class 7A playoff opener on Wednesday, April 17 at 5 p.m.
"I'm impressed with our tenacity this season," said Richmond Hill Coach Kelly Anderson, in her fifth year with the program and second as head coach. "The girls want it more than anything, and if I ask them to do something — there are no questions asked. They know what's expected of them. We have phenomenal players, but they are still coachable."
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In the win over Savannah Arts at Daffin Park on April 9, the team's depth and versatility were on display. Freshman Makaylyn Martin cleaned up a rebound scoring the first goal in the fourth minute, and sophomore keeper Kamryn Martinez turned back a penalty kick seven minutes later.
Hannah Nelson extended the lead to 2-0 in the 54th minute by scoring out of a scrum in front of the net, and junior captain Kate Clark converted from the top of the box in the 78th minute to conclude the scoring. The defense, led by Maggie Dodge, did an excellent job containing the Panther offense.
"We have a lot of players who are really good on the ball and everyone can score," senior captain Madison Haldeman said. "It makes it tough on our opponents because they can't focus on one player — they have to defend everyone."
The stats back up Haldeman's take with the goal-scoring wealth spread out well. Iris Turner leads the team with 19 goals and Martin has 13 goals and nine assists. Clark has 10 goals and 15 assists, with Ella Peterson at eight goals with 13 assists. Brook Norris has six goals and Haldeman and Caitlin McCormick have scored five each.
The future looks bright for the Wildcats, who lose just two seniors to graduation. There are four juniors, seven sophomores and six freshmen on the roster.
The back four on defense are all freshmen with Dodge, Talia Christman, Brooke Norris and Edyne Perry-Anderson anchoring the unit.
The Wildcats enter the playoffs ranked No. 8 in the state among Class 7A teams by Score Atlanta, and Anderson thinks her squad is ready to take the next step.
"We done a lot of team bonding and got rid of the quietness we had early on," Anderson said. "The girls trust each other and are communicating well. We are looking to learn from our past mistakes in the playoffs. We have some new things up our sleeve to use. We want to play smarter and break some mental barriers."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Undefeated Richmond Hill girls soccer ready for playoffs
