Harrison looks to 'keep building' off regular season success heading into the playoffs
On Friday, the Harrison Hoyas girls soccer team hit their home pitch for their final regular season game and on a night in which they celebrated their senior players as they hosted the Starr's Mill Panthers in a non-region matchup. And while the regular season finale for both teams would have no implications on their Georgia High School Association state championship tournament positions, the battle between the two, one loss teams would give each an opportunity to head into post season play with some momentum behind, and in the case of the Hoyas, a dominate first half would lead to a 3-1 win and give them their sixth consecutive victory.
"I know this might sound cheesy, but the girls really believe in each other and they really love each other and so they fight relentlessly for each other," Harrison head coach, Johnathan Gross, said after the match as he spoke highly of his players and what has been standing out to him throughout the season. "We've got really good soccer players. Our front three is really, really dangerous so if you shut down our left winger, we've got a striker that can score. You shut her down, someone else can pop up," Gross said of the Hoyas' style of play which they displayed in the first half as they got out to a 3-0 thanks to two Shelby Shaw goals and a Sarah Houston strike.
And while the Hoyas had an overall dominating performance, Gross acknowledged that facing Starr's Mill, who entered the match at 14-1-1, would give his team a much needed challenge to help them prepare for the state championship tournament. "We've been playing Starr's Mill for years and we always schedule them because they're always good," Gross said, praising the Panthers' program for their consistency of competitive play and winning. "You know they're going to battle and fight," Gross continued, explaining how the intensity that Starr's Mill comes to the pitch with, helps make the Hoyas "sharp".
Now, as Harrison turns their attention to the playoffs and get set to face Carrollton in the opening round of the Class 7A bracket, Gross says the message for his players is simple. "We really don't have to do anything differently. We've been playing really well, we've got a bunch of talented players that fight hard," Gross said explaining how "brutal" post-season play can be. "Often times it literally comes down to one play and one moment and so we're just going to keep working to be prepared for that moment and hopefully we can keep building off what we did in the regular season," Gross added.
