Paideia Boys Defeat Pacelli, Advance to Elite 8 of Class A Playoffs

After devastating back-to-back losses in the first round of the Georgia High School Association Class A Boys' State Soccer Tournament the past two seasons, the number one seed (16-1) accomplished what the previous two squads were unable to Wednesday night.   

Paideia advanced to the Elite 8 of tournament play with a decisive 4-0 victory over Pacelli High School (8-9). The Pythons dominated the visitors from Columbus from the opening whistle until the last play in front of the hometown crowd at Python Park.

"The main thing is that we didn't advance in the playoffs the last two years and we were, I thought, upset both times," said Paideia head coach Eric Thomas. "I'd say our boys played about as well as they’re going to play today. I thought Pacelli was excellent and we had to beat them; it wasn't like it was an easy game or anything."

Midfielder Eli Pinner netted the first Python goal of the night in the first half, firing a rocket from just outside the 18-yard box that sailed past the Pacelli goalkeeper to give Paideia the 1-0 advantage.

"I thought we played really well under pressure," said Pinner. "We had two weeks off so I was happy to see that we came out and performed at a high level."

The Pythons struck again soon after when senior Tim Brooks' diving header off of a deflected shot by Coleman Parks snuck past the Pacelli goalkeeper, putting Paideia up 2-0 heading into halftime.

Paideia continued on the offensive in the second half, maintaining possession through the midfield and mounting attack after attack on the Pacelli net.

After near misses by Pinner and fellow midfielder William Tabor, the Pythons found the back of the net for the third time with 24 minutes left to play off a long throw-in by Parks.

Parks launched a high, arching throw from the left sideline to the Pacelli six-yard box, where it was volleyed across the goal mouth by Alex Kirsch to the foot of Parker Tindall, who calmly fired the ball into the net to give the Pythons a 3-0 lead.

Parks got on the score sheet later himself, collecting a pass from Kirsch that slipped behind the Pacelli defense before slotting the ball into the bottom left corner for the fourth and final Paideia goal of the evening.

After the victory, Thomas was pleased with the way his team cashed in on scoring opportunities as his squad looks forward to their first second-round playoff match in three seasons.

"Sometimes we can keep the ball, it seems like, 70 percent of the time and get five chances on goal and today we probably had 25 [chances]," said Thomas. "I thought [Pacelli] did a good job of making it hard for us to get those chances to go in but we got them and I’m happy with that."

Paideia will host Aquinas High School (15-2) on Sat., May 7, in the Elite 8. Aquinas defeated Darlington, 6-1 on Wednesday.