ACE girls soccer defeats Pepperell 10-0 to reach GHSA Elite Eight

The ACE girls soccer team got another resounding playoff blowout Tuesday, getting great assists from Lily Bivins and a sweet shot from freshman Karlie Olson early to swing the momentum and defeat the Pepperell Dragons 10-0 in the second round of the GHSA Class A-Division I state tournament.

It was the second straight blowout of the postseason for the Gryphons, who have the No. 2 seed in the bracket and improved to 19-1 with the victory. They will face No. 7 Bremen in the Elite Eight on Monday, May 4 at home.

While the Gryphons got contributions from a variety of players, Bivins’ effort stood out. She had six assists thanks to some stellar corner kicks — one of her passes into the box nearly curved its way into the goal without an assist. She also tacked on a goal of her own just for good measure.

“To get somebody an assist, you have to have the skill to see: ‘Where this could go, how can I put players in? How can I draw opponents, then at the last second slot in a teammate?’ (Bivins) plays in the middle, she draws a lot of attention,” ACE head coach Robby Jones said. “She draws them in, then she can set up her teammate real nice. People can make passes, but can they make them at the right time? She does well with that.”

The strong performance comes after Bivins netted a hat trick barely 10 minutes into ACE’s first playoff game.

So, which performance was her favorite?

“They were both fun in their own right. It’s really just about how the girls jell each game. We always jell a little bit differently,” Bivins said. “It’s really just fun to get out there with the girls and feel this much energy, then honing it in to get the product that we want.”

Her teammates had stellar performances as well. Slayton Marbut polished off a hat trick with a stellar volley late in the second half. EG Wood had two nifty goals, one on a header and another on an impressive volley. Olson’s two goals got a particularly raucous reaction from the Gryphons team and their fans, as the diminutive freshman had a great game.

“(Olson’s) playing a defensive role, and she’s a freshman, and she’s the tiniest person on the field. That’s why everybody gets excited. She plays much bigger than she is. To see her put two in the net, everybody gets excited. Everybody loves her,” Jones said.

Pepperell looked somewhat scrappy early on — the Dragons even got a deflection out of bounds off an ACE defender that gave them a decent look on a corner kick — but after about 15 minutes, ACE settled into its usual dominant ways.

Loosier found the net first off a great corner kick from Bivins, then Wood scored a goal on a neat header from another Bivins pass to make it 2-0 just a few minutes later. Bivins scored a sweet goal of her own just 30 seconds later as the Gryphons stormed down the field.

The Bivins goal to make it 3-0 so soon after ACE’s second scoring effort seemed to take the wind out of Pepperell’s sails. The Dragons rarely crossed midfield with possession again, and a goal from Olson brought elation to the ACE team and made it 4-0.

Slayton Marmot and Bivins each scored before halftime to make it 6-0 at the break. The Gryphons had several chances to add on but could not convert. ACE also subbed in several players with about 15 minutes left in the first half. 

The second team stayed on the field for the Gryphons for most of the second half, resulting in a stalemate. Pepperell got better looks and snuck the ball into the box at one point before Jones put ACE’s top line back in to finish the job with about 15 minutes left.

Marbut, Wood and Olson finished things off from there, scoring quickly to punch ACE’s ticket to the third round via mercy rule with about nine minutes left to play.

Now the prep for Monday’s quarterfinal match begins.

“We’re expecting a much bigger fight. We can’t take Bremen for granted at all. They can score a lot of goals and they play a difficult schedule,” Jones said. “We’re gonna have to defend our territory, defend Perkins Field and give our best effort for 80 minutes. I don’t think the game’s gonna be won in the first half. It’s gonna take somebody in the second half to really put the other one out.”