Westside gets 5-3 win over Windsor for Senior Night to help playoff chances

On their spring sports senior night, their last game of the regular season, the Westside Seminoles got an impressive 5-3 win over the Windsor Knights out of the GIAA thanks to five goals from team captain Kaila Lucas.

It was an impressive win for the Seminoles, who moved to 5-8 on the year and honored a whopping 11 seniors on the girls soccer team as well as athletes from boys soccer, volleyball and a few other sports. 

Westside now has a chance to make the playoffs despite finishing fifth in Region 2-2A, as GHSA’s Post Season Ranking (PSR) system allows for at-large playoff teams.

Lucas was able to fuel the win, regularly corralling loose balls that slipped past the Windsor defense and using her speed to break out in front of the back line and give Westside all the offense it needed for a win. Two of her goals came in a particularly impressive three-minute span in the first half.

“She knows her role, but she’s humble about it. She’s a great player for us,” Westside head coach and assistant athletic director Jason Stephens said of Lucas after the senior ceremonies. “She’s got the most experience on the team and she plays really well for us.”

The Seminole scoring was all the more impressive considering they played several defenders back for most of the game.

“Our big game plan is just keeping the other team from scoring, playing those five defenders back. So we were happy to have the scoring tonight,” Stephens said.

Westside needed it, as the Knights put up three goals of their own thanks to nice ball movement and consistent effort. Senior Cameron Hunter netted two goals, one in each half, while freshman Grace Lewis got the third.

“They hustled all night and played a good game, I’m very proud of them for coming out and competing,” Windsor head coach Erika Bishop said after the game. “We’ve actually never played on a turf field before, so that was foreign to us and they were used to it. It was a bit of a disadvantage, but we knew we had to come out here and give it 100% and stay disciplined, and I think we did that.”

Westside took an early lead, going up 2-0 in the first half on Lucas’ pair of goals before Lewis struck first for Windsor. Hunter followed with her first goal to tie things at 2-2 with about 13 minutes left in the opening half.

It looked like the tie would hold into the intermission until Lucas snuck her third goal of the afternoon into the net with about seven minutes left until halftime. Westside senior keeper 

Titiana Johnson made some impressive saves to keep it at 3-2 to close out the half, part of an impressive effort on the day.

“Goalie is a hard position. Getting someone who is willing to sacrifice their body — getting kicked, hit, all of that, — is super hard, she knew her role coming in this year would be to stay in that goal,” Stephens said.

Less than three minutes into the second half, however, Hunter struck again for Windsor. The senior maneuvered past some defenders and punched it in after teammate Maddie Price managed to get her the ball in the final third.

“She is always a leader on the team, she has the most experience out of most of the girls. Her and Ella (Harper) up top had a good game. Our goalie Abby (Price) also made some really nice plays tonight,” Bishop said of her team’s strongest players Tuesday.

It stayed tied at 3-3 for a while, as both teams’ defenses stepped up and cleared the ball on several occasions while Price and Johnson saved anything that made it past defenders.

The scoring drought finally broke in exciting fashion when Lucas got her fourth goal on a rogue pass, scorching a wormburner of a shot right into the furthest left corner of the goal and past Price’s outstretched hands to put Westside up 4-3 with only 11 minutes left in the contest.

Windsor had a few opportunities after that to equalize it, even with so little time left, but the Knights’ best chance ended up offsides. The Seminoles put things on ice with Lucas’ fifth and final goal with about three minutes to play.

Westside’s goalkeeper Johnson even got some time in the field in the last stretch thanks to the extra score.

“That was fun for her, to finally get out into the field for the first time this year,” Stephens said. “It was just a good game to end the season on.”

The Seminoles could get another game, though, thanks to the new power rankings system. While the PSR was mainly designed for GHSA football and basketball, it applies to other sports as well. 

Westside currently ranks No. 26 in Class 2A for the state of Georgia, a ranking that includes private schools, though their record did not appear to be fully updated as of Tuesday night. Once the private schools are removed, the Seminoles should be well within the top 32 in the state and thus qualify for a playoff game.

“That’s something that would be exciting. I love coaching here at Westside, we’ve never been known for having a soccer program. This is my first year as coach, and it was all about making sure these girls had a good senior season,” Stephens said. “Even our five wins is sort of a milestone for us. I think a trip to the playoffs would be the first time in maybe 15 years or so.”

Windsor fell to 2-8 on the year but still has three remaining games before GIAA playoffs begin. The Knights are ranked 16th in the GIAA 2A table, per MaxPreps, though games against powerhouse CFCA, David Emanuel Academy and Piedmont will be crucial.

“We’re a smaller school, and we just appreciate the girls coming out and putting in all this work for us as coaches. They played hard tonight and I’m proud of all the work they’ve done,” Bishop said.

Windsor is set to play its next game against CFCA on the road Thursday at 5:30 p.m.