After going undefeated and winning the region, the girls soccer team fell in the second round of playoffs on April 30, losing 5-1 to Cambridge.
“Sometimes, it’s just not the team’s night,” coach Blair Barksdale said. “I think every girl would say this, as well, we probably didn’t play our top game for the first little bit, but they persevered, and they really turned it around in the second half.”
Barksdale said the Knights, despite facing setbacks early in the game, showed resilience and continued to fight.
“I was very proud that they reacted and turned the switch on,” Barksdale said. “Some teams might get in that position and give up. They didn’t – they kept fighting.”
Cambridge was ranked 14th in the nation and 2nd in Georgia, meaning the Knights faced the toughest competition in the state early in the playoffs.
“Honestly, we didn’t know much about Cambridge,” senior co-captain Ella Gagnon said. “We knew they were good and I think we could have done a lot better than we did. We just had an off game; no one was as focused as they should have been.”
Cambridge scored early and maintained pressure throughout the match. Although the Knights managed to get on the board, the gap was too wide to close.
“It was coming off prom weekend, it was the first time we really played in heat, and they were very good,” Barksdale said. “We’re very good too but a lot of times settle in and take about 10-15 minutes to kind of get our game going. I think one of.the biggest challenges was we didn’t have that 10 to 15 minutes; when that whistle blew, we had to be 110 percent. I think that’s a learning and a growing point for us.”
Despite the loss, the Knights had a successful season.
“I think the season went pretty well,” Gagnon said “We didn’t go as far as we wanted to in the playoffs but we had so much fun the whole season. it was definitely a different vibe from how serious we’ve been in past years.”
Four girls made first team all region – sophomore Hudson Joyner, juniors Eva Isokof and Eve Namias and senior Gagnon – and senior co-captain Cate Barton was awarded Region Player of the Year for 4-AAAA. Head coach Barksdale was also named All-Region coach of the year.
“We had a lot of individual success this year which shows the quality of our players,” senior goalkeeper Sinclair Richman said. “We got relatively far in state and also got recognized as players and as a team so I would say the season was definitely a good one.”
The Knights went undefeated in the region, proving themselves as the top team.
“Going undefeated was rewarding and it gave us the confidence we needed to fight our way into state playoffs,” Richman said. “There is some decent competition in our region so the games are always fun.”
Midtown’s season included key wins over Decatur, Riverwood and Pace Academy. Junior Alexa Posel believes the team chemistry helped significantly.
“We really clicked,” Posel said. “Our chemistry got better with every game, and I think that’s what made us tough to play against. Everyone trusted each other. It was always a good atmosphere and everyone was just happy to be there and playing together which I felt really made a difference.”
The Knights are looking to come back even stronger next season.
“I hope the younger girls continue to have fun with it,” Gagnon said. “Club soccer gets taken so seriously so it’s nice to have a chiller atmosphere with the school team, while still taking it seriously. The younger girls have so much talent and potential and I really think they can do great these coming seasons.”
