In their all-star game Saturday at Finley Stadium, the Tennessee and Georgia boys’ soccer teams took different paths to the goal, but the end result was the same.
They played to a 2-2 tie, the first in the series of games featuring recent high school graduates from the bordering states. Tennessee still holds a commanding 4-1-1 lead in the series.
Former Cleveland standouts Garrett Koon and Wes Llosa scored for Tennessee, and Dalton’s Ricky Rodriguez had both Georgia goals and was named most valuable player.
Llosa was named Tennessee player of the game, and Southeast Whitfield’s Macario Gutierez earned the corresponding Georgia honor. Former Boyd-Buchanan keeper Jake Lockert tied a game record with 13 saves.
Rodriguez struck quickly on both of his goals, scoring 30 seconds into the contest and needing less than 25 seconds to score after Tennessee took a 2-1 advantage in the second half on Llosa’s goal. Georgia strung together a series of passes off the kickoff, with Southeast’s Armando Morales connecting with Rodriguez for the equalizer.
“Ricky is a very opportunistic player,” Georgia coach Matt Cheaves of Dalton said. “He doesn’t need a lot of space nor a lot of time.”
TENNESSEE 2, GEORGIA 2Halftime score: 1-1. Goals: Ricky Rodriguez 2 (G); Garrett Koon, Wes Llosa (T). Assists: Armando Morales (G); Adam Martin (T). Shots: Georgia, 16-15. Saves: Jake Lockert 13 (T); Jack Greene 6, Oscar Solorzano 3 (G).
Possession was about even for the game, with both teams having multiple opportunities for goals. Tennessee’s Tyler Keys just missed on a header attempt in the first half, and Georgia’s Miguel Fraire and Nino Silva of Dalton missed second-half shots.
Koon himself had some dangerous opportunities on goal. He appeared to score the go-ahead goal late in the game after Chattanooga Christian’s Corey Wilson bounced a free kick off the bar, but Koon was called offside.
“It was good to get a chance to see and coach some of these players,” said Tennessee coach Jim Schermerhorn of Notre Dame. “It was a fun group overall and very team-oriented.”
Said Cheaves: “I thought we passed the ball well and were moving well. It was fun getting to know some of these other players and see them play together on the same team.”