Richmond Hill girls and boys soccer teams excelling as playoffs loom

The Richmond Hill girls and boys soccer teams are in the midst of stellar seasons as the teams prepare for the Class 6A State playoffs after winning Region 1-6A titles. On Tuesday night, the Wildcat teams looked strong in non-region victories over visiting Savannah Country Day. The girls beat the Hornets 3-0 to improve to 16-0 on the season, while the Wildcat boys beat SCD 3-1.

The Wildcat girls are playing at an elite level under second year coach Shawn Allen ― having outscored opponents 92-8. Richmond Hill is ranked No. 3 among Class 6A teams in the state by Score Atlanta.

Sophomore Aubrey Fanning fired a shot off the crossbar in the 20th minute as the Wildcats began to push the pace. Makaylyn Martin found the back of the net in the 34th minute on an assist from freshman Karley Shultz and the Wildcats led 1-0 at intermission. Becca Carpenter knocked home a cross in the 62nd minute for Richmond Hill.

Five minutes later, senior Ella Peterson had the goal of the game, taking a short pass from Sydney Shaw, and blasting an unforgettable shot from the left side of the field from about 25 yards out that curled in just under the crossbar in the right corner of the net. It was the 27th goal of the season for Peterson, who has signed to play at the Virginia Military Institute. "I think the difference this year is that all of our seniors have played with the freshmen, who came onto the team this season, in the past.