Creekview HS
1550 Owens
Store Road,
Canton, GA 30115

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Lady Grizzlies relishing undefeated season

Creekview players, from left, Jade Denison, Eli Arthur, Megan Epperson, Whitley Dover, Meghan Finecey, Chloe Frew, Courtney Griffin are announced during the Lady Grizzlies’ inaugural varsity game on Feb. 15. Creekview defeated Pickens County 5-0 in the opener

The Creekview defense of, front row, from left, captain Megan Hill, Maggie Klaesius, back row, Courtney Griffin and Chloe Frew helped record six shutouts for the Lady Grizzlies
By Todd Callahan (sports@ledgernews.com)

Don’t say the Creekview girls varsity soccer team is not ready for prime time.

While the Sequoyah boys and girls varsity teams enjoyed successful runs in the state playoffs with the boys team having a perfect regular season, there was another county club with an undefeated record.

The Lady Grizzlies, playing their inaugural season at the varsity level, went 10-0-1 and tallied six shutouts. They outscored their varsity opponents a combined 51-9.

It was a big improvement from the program’s first year when the team managed two wins in 10 games at the junior varsity level.

“I really didn’t know what to expect going into the season,” Creekview head coach Kerri Schmitt said. “We had a few new players move in and did not know how things would come together. We played an all JV season last year and ended up 2-4-4 overall. So going undefeated this season definitely exceeded my expectations.”

A key for the program’s success was the arrival of newcomer Whitley Dover. The younger sister of Sequoyah standout Emily Dover, who was one of the top goal scorers in the county, scored nearly half of the team’s total goals this season.

The freshman tallied 31 goals and finished her inaugural year at Creekview with five goals in the team’s season-ending 5-4 triumph against Lumpkin County. The finale, played on April 19, was nerve-racking.

The Lady Grizzlies were on the road and playing on Lumpkin’s senior night. Creekview also was missing a key player in captain Megan Hill. The match see-sawed and was tied 4-all with less than two minutes left when Dover scored her 31st and final goal of the match to clinch the victory.

However, Dover was not the only standout player for Creekview. Eli Arthur, a sophomore, also had a strong campaign. She tallied 16 goals and had 12 assists and was co-captains with Hill, who was the backbone of the Lady Grizzlies’ defense. In addition to shutting down opposing offenses, Hill tallied five goals and had seven assists. Sophomore Margie Lough was strong in goal for the Lady Grizzlies.

A pivotal game for the Lady Grizzlies was a 2-1 victory over Fellowship Christian on March 20.

Having defeated Region 5-AA rival St. Francis 2-1 the night before, the Lady Grizzlies welcomed the Lady Paladins, who were riding a four-game winning streak. Fellowship had outscored their opponents a combined 23-2 during the streak and led 1-0 at the intermission, but Creekview rallied for the team’s seventh straight victory.

“I think the girls had a gut check in the game against Fellowship,” Schmitt said. “They were down 1-0 at the half and did not think that they could win. They went out in the second half and took control of the game and ended up beating a really good team. I think at that point of the season they realized they could win games even if they were down in the game.”

The lone blemish on an otherwise perfect season was a 1-1 draw on the road against Trion.

Creekview enjoyed shutouts over Pickens (5-0), Gilmer County (4-0), Mount Pisgah (3-0), Sonoraville (11-0) Pickens (5-0) again and a 10-0 blanking of Fannin County.

Unfortunately, regular season success did not translate into a playoff berth. The Lady Grizzlies played a non-region schedule and were ineligible for postseason play.

“Unfortunately, hind sight is 20-20,” Schmitt said of the decision to play a region schedule this spring. “When I had to make the decision of whether we would play an area schedule or not, I was not sure how we would fair with such a young team. I think that all the players enjoyed the season, learned a lot and got the vital experiences that they needed this year.”

Schmitt expects the Lady Grizzlies to play a full region schedule in 2008. The team will have another class of players and juniors with two years of experience, but the schedule is going to be more demanding.

The Lady Grizzlies will be in 5-AA again along with several successful teams like Lovett, Walker and Pace Academy.

Walker played in the state championship on May 11 and suffered a 3-2 loss to Providence Academy. Lovett was a state semifinalist. Holy Innocents’ and Whitefield Academy also made the state playoffs this year.

Creekview will be playing all four of those teams.

“Our region is a very tough one, which will give us a lot of competition for next year,” Schmitt said.

Dover was named the team MVP at the postseason awards banquet, and Chloe Frew was named the player of promise.

Krystina Odish earned the spirit award, and Arthur was awarded the unsung hero accolade.

Hill earned the coaches award for her stellar play.



 
 

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