MODEL MAULERS
♦ Lauren Akemon records a hat trick as the Lady Devils book their fourth ticket into the Elite Eight in five years.
Lauren Akemon recorded a hat trick, Ryli Howe preserved the clean sheet and the Model Lady Devils crushed the Banks County Lady Leopards 9-0 in the Sweet 16 of the Class AA girls soccer state playoffs.
It’s Model’s fourth trip to the Elite Eight in five years.
“We struck early ... that kind of set the tone and the rest followed after that,” Lady Devils head coach Ian Crawley said. “Good news is everybody on the side played. Everybody contributed. We call it a good night. But we also know the competition is gonna get a tougher.”
Model (18-2) controlled the action from start to finish. Ashley Vicente opened the scoring just 128 seconds into the first half and the Lady Devils never looked back.
Vicente and Akemon both notched hat tricks, Akemon doing so for a second consecutive playoff game.
“I’m just driving and getting my through-balls from my teammates were helping me the most,” Akemon said. “I was not going to hit the long shot today, so those through balls were what I was doing best in this game tonight.”
Allie Calvert, Perry Durden and SG Gowens each had a goal, rounding out the Lady Devils’ scorers.
While most of the action remained in front of her, Howe made some saves to preserve Model’s clean sheet. The Lady Devils have started the 2021 state-playoff run outscoring opponents 20-0.
“I think it’s incredible, especially because (my) freshman year didn’t go as planned,” Howe said. “Being a sophomore and being able to love forward with this team and having this big group of a family that I love to call my soccer team, I think it’s really an improvement from ... last year.”
Model will face Region 1’s No. 1 seed Fitzgerald in the Elite Eight at Woodard-tuggle Stadium next week in Shannon.
Due to the Georgia High School Association’s coin flip for the quarterfinal round, the top side of the bracket (where Model is located) will host when equal seeds meet.
“We’ve got the same three themes all year: first to the ball, communication and give it 100 (percent) every time you’re on the pitch,” Crawley said. “You play to the level of your ability and not to the ability of your opponents. Hopefully, we’ll be ready for the challenge that comes next Tuesday.”