Chestatee High girls soccer coach Mark Dunn is used to winning Northeast Georgia Mountain Cup titles, even though the Lady War Eagles (10-3-1) qualified for their first tournament title game in school history with a 3-1 win against Habersham Central on Monday at War Eagles Stadium.
As the previous coach of the Johnson boys and with numerous Northeast Georgia Mountain Cup titles under his belt, Dunn has the Chestatee girls in the finals as a result of wins against Stephens County and the Lady Raiders (7-4) in their first two tourney games.
With the win, the Lady War Eagles await an opponent still to be determined in the championship game at 8 p.m. Friday at the Allen Creek Soccer Complex.
"Our team is playing sound soccer right now," Dunn said. "Making the championship game is good for our program."
Chestatee got a pair of back-to-back goals midway through the first half, then another early in the second half to ensure its win against Habersham Central.
The Lady War Eagles set the tone for its quick start with three consecutive shots on goal by senior Megan Fligg. The first attempt by the South Carolina signee sailed wide of the goal and the second hit off the crossbar of the upright before she planted the third attempt in the back of the net with an assist from Morgan Dooley in the 16th minute.
Fligg struck for her second goal only two minutes later with a nice play off the defender, sinking the shot into the side of the net on an assist from Kathryn Barnett. Chestatee’s leading scorer was constantly on the attack with five shots on goal in the first half.
"Megan Fligg is a great striker and playing against her was a great test for our team," Habersham Central coach Joey Elger said. "Her play was definitely the key of the first half."
Chestatee also kept defensive pressure on the Lady Raiders with the play of sweeper Kelsey Neukem and Abi Mills in the midfield. The Lady War Eagles kept Habersham Central from putting any kind of offensive consistency together in the first 20 minutes of the game.
Chestatee added its final goal early in the second half with a goal on a breakaway by Daniela Sotelo, placing the ball in the net precisely over the goalie’s outstretched hands.
Habersham Central’s goal came from Tandy Turk in the 64th minute. Lady Raiders goalie Lauren Cunningham, a junior, played well in her first start with 18 saves. The Lady Raiders face Stephens County at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Allen Creek Soccer Complex.
Johnson boys 3, Buford 0
Ariel Mejia led the Knights with a pair of goals in the Northeast Georgia Mountain Cup on Monday at the Allen Creek Soccer Complex. Vicente Trujillo also scored a goal for Johnson (10-3). Christian Isidro, Chris Henry and Alan Garcia each had an assist for the Knights.
Johnson faces Chestatee at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Chestatee. Buford faces an opponent to be determined on Friday at Chestatee.
West Hall boys 7, Riverside Military 1
Juan Arbealez had a hat trick with three goals for West Hall (10-3) in the Northeast Georgia Mountain Cup on Monday night at the Allen Creek Soccer Complex. Chris Lewis had a goal and two assists for the Spartans.
Rudy Vazquez, Israel del Toro and Alex Munoz each scored one goal for West Hall. Spartans goalie Jamie King had five saves.
West Hall faces Apalachee at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Chestatee. Riverside faces an opponent to be determined at Chestatee on Friday.