Georgia boys on a streak in all-star soccer

Soccer tile
Soccer tile

Rain shortened each half of Thursday's Tennessee-Georgia boys' soccer all-star match.

Georgia was ahead both times.

Northwest Whitfield's Enzo Lavecchia scored the second-half goal that proved to be the difference in a 2-1 win at Finley Stadium. Tennessee still leads the overall series 8-5, but Georgia has won the past four meetings.

North Murray goalkeeper Ish Capistran had a number of key saves and was named the Georgia player of the game, while Chattanooga Christian's Drew Bolano scored Tennessee's lone goal and was awarded the honor for his team.

Sonoraville's Kevin Villatoro scored the match's first goal after a bad clearance by the Tennessee defense, but Chattanooga Christian's Drew Bolano scored - after the first rain delay - on a corner kick by McCallie's Drew Viscomi to even the match.

Lavecchia's low, left-footed driving shot angled past McCallie goalkeeper Emerson Brock for the game-winning goal. The match was called with about 14 minutes to play due to lightning.

"We know Tennessee has great soccer in their area," said Sonoraville coach Hector Holquin, who coached Georgia. "McCallie just won state and Baylor is always good, so we knew it would be a challenge no matter what. I'm proud of the guys and how they came out and played. We had practices on Monday and Tuesday, and you could see the chemistry from there. Some of our guys have been playing together since they were 5-6 years old.

"To come out and get the win, it means a lot, because Tennessee really is quality."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.

Upcoming Events