The Gilmer Bobcats had a final tuneup before the state soccer playoffs.
GHS made its way to Wesleyan last Tuesday for the region finale. The first-place Wolves are ranked No. 5 in Class 3A and were able to add another win to their seasonal tally, and they jumped ahead by two goals at the half.
The Bobcats broke through for a goal in the dying embers of the match, and Wesleyan added a goal as well in the 3-1 victory.
“I was proud to see the boys play with the effort they displayed. It would’ve been easy for them to hang their heads after going down early, but that isn’t what we do,” said head coach Taylor Johnstone.
Wesleyan struck for two quick goals to put the Cats behind. The Wolves scored after seven minutes of play and put the Cats in a 2-0 hole near the midpoint of the half.
“After that we settled the game down and played much better,” Johnstone noted. “We defended together, and they didn’t get any more good shots off until the end of the game. Even though we were down by two at halftime, the boys were determined to finish the game strong and they did.”
With eight minutes left in the game, GHS defender Noah Turner cleared the ball to teammate Cristian Oxlaj at midfield. Oxlaj passed ahead to a charging Lleison Puac, who outran two defenders before side stepping a sliding goalkeeper and putting the ball into the back of the net.
The Wolves scored their insurance goal on a run with less than two minutes left in the match.
The loss dropped the Bobcats’ record to 7-6. They were 3-3 versus region opponents, and secured the No. 4 seed heading into the first round of the state playoffs.
“The good thing about our team is that we are not selfish and all have the potential to score. Opposing teams can’t key on just one player, they have to defend against us all,” said Johnstone. “We have and rely on some depth in all positions. This has helped us play to max potential over the past three games.
“This week we will continue to focus on us, and we will certainly take some time to work on finishing in a variety of situations. We have a great team who is eager to keep improving, and we are looking forward to the challenge ahead of us.”
Gilmer travels to No. 2 ranked Oconee County (14-1-2) Wednesday to begin the state tournament at 7:30 p.m.