GAC Girls, Boys Soccer Teams Reach State Playoffs

Greater Atlanta Christian is hosting its first-round games in the Georgia High School Association soccer tournament this week.

Greater Atlanta Christian's girls and boys begin their title defenses this week as the Georgia High School Association soccer tournament opens play throughout the state. Both Spartan teams will be playing at home for the Class AA titles. On Thursday, the ladies will be up against Model, and on Friday, the boys will play against Armuchee. While GAC makes up for two of the county's soccer teams, in all, 27 Gwinnett County teams have qualified in five classifications. See also: Here's the entire list of games involving Gwinnett teams. Most first-round games in the girls tournament begin Tuesday, April 30, and the boys start playing May 1. GHSA Soccer Playoffs (Gwinnett teams bold-faced) Girls Soccer First-round games Class AAAAAA (April 30) …

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Top Norcross Sports Stories of 2012

Here's a look back at all the year's greatest sport stories around the Norcross area.

This year was a great year for Norcross sports. Here are some of Patch's top picks for 2012. Norcross High's Football State Championship Win: While this list is in no particular order, the Blue Devils' win of the Class AAAAAA title is definitely at the top. The game against Lovejoy last Saturday was Norcross' first time at the Georgia Dome since the school had a team in 1957, and they came out victorious with a score of 21-14. The Blue Devils' Undefeated Football Streak: Norcross had an undefeated season with 15 games. This and the fact that they won the state finals contributed to Norcross jumping from the No. 8 spot to No. 3 in the Xcellent 25 National Football Rankings. Greater Atlanta Christian Soccer Coach Named Coach of the Year: …

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Girls Soccer Coach of the Year Award Goes to GAC's Bendickson

Greater Atlanta Christian School’s Troy Bendickson was selected as the NSCAA Private/Parochial School Girls’ Soccer Coach of the Year for Georgia.

GAC Advances to Soccer Semifinals

Both the girls and boys will head to the state AA semifinals this week.

After two successful wins in the quarterfinals this past weekend, Greater Atlanta Christian Schools' girls and boys varsity soccer teams are headed to the state AA semifinals. According to the GAC website, the boys team defeated North Oconee High School 2-1 on Friday, May 11, and the girls beat Dawson County High School 7-0 the following Saturday. While both games took place on their opponents' turf, the upcoming games will be on Spartan soil. The GAC boys will play Westminister High School at 7:30 p.m. this Tuesday, May 15, and the girls will play Buford High School at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Admission is $7. The winning teams from the two games will play in the state AA championship games this weekend. For the other semifinals, Blessed Trinity…

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Get Out: Make a Plan for the Weekend

See "The Princess Bride" this weekend under the stars--and more!

Summer is winding down. The air is a little crisper, nights are a little cooler and we're all being forcefully surrounded by football. These are all great reasons to spend sometime outside finding new things to do. Here are some great suggestions for this week.  American Red Cross Blood Drive If you're in the mood to give back this weekend, think about donating blood. Especially if you have type "O", call 1-800-REDCROSS to schedule an appointment for Friday at Glenn C. Jones Middle School in Suwanee. Movie Night at Lillian Webb Park Downtown Norcross will be showing the classic movie The Princess Bride this Saturday evening. The flick starts around dusk but the fun begins at 7:00 p.m. with food, activities for the kids and more.  Atlanta …

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Get Out: Make a Plan for the Weekend

Ventriloquists, nannies and fishing poles...

Beat the heat this weekend by showing it you aren't afraid. Put on some shorts, grab some friends and Get Out! Life is Short - Lionheart Theatre  Local playwrights are featured at Lionheart Theatre in Historic Norcross this weekend in a collection of short plays entitled "Life is Short." For more information visit Onion Man Productions. Magic and Ventriloquism Show at Peachtree Corners Library  Friday morning at the Peachtree Corners Public Library, Keith Karnok, or "Mr. Keith the Magic Man," will be performing for the kids. His show "One World, Many Stories" combines magic, ventriloquism and reading. Kids Fishing Day The only thing kids are allow to fib about this Saturday is the size of the fish they caught at the Jones Bridge Park Kids …

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Lady Spartans Fall To Blessed Trinity In Double Overtime

The GAC Girls soccer team lost in double overtime to the Titans of Blessed Trinity in the GHSA Class AA Girls Soccer State Finals.

Blessed Trinity freshman Delaney Fechalos converted a penalty kick with 2:37 left in the second overtime to give the Titans a 1-0 win over Greater Atlanta Christian and to take the Class AA State Championship. Both teams played an extremely hard-fought match throughout regulation and both teams had chances to score.  However, neither team was able to break the scoreless tie in regulation, or in the first 5 minute overtime period. The Lady Spartans asserted their aggressiveness on offense in the later stages of regulation, and very nearly got a goal.  With a little over 17 minutes left in regulation,  sophomore forward Rachel Garcia drilled a shot that hit the crossbar and almost went into the net.  Earlier in the second half, senior …

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GAC Outlasts Scrappy North Oconee In Soccer Semifinals

GAC beats North Oconee 2-0 and moves on to the Class AA state soccer finals.

The Spartans of GAC and the Titans of North Oconee fought it out for the right to go to the State Championship, but thanks to goals from Paul Ille and Stewart Abrahart, GAC prevailed 2-0 and will host Westminster in the Class AA State Championship match on Saturday.         "We are on our way to the finals.  It was a very good performance by North Oconee.  It was very difficult to break them down.  We kept knocking at the door and coudln't get it, but we finally got the break," GAC Head Coach Thom Jacquet said. "I thought our defensive did a great job.  It kept them out of many good scoring opportunities," he added.         Even though the first half was scoreless, the Spartans had several chances.  The brilliant play of North Oconee …

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GAC Girls' Soccer Reaches State Final

Spartans end Final Four jinx with 3-1 win over Westminster.

Third times a charm. After being denied in two successive semifinals, the Greater Atlanta Christian girls soccer team reached the Class AA final with a deserved 3-1 home win over Westminster on Tuesday night. The visitors claimed a first-minute lead but were soon on level terms through Rachel Garcia, who added two more for the Spartans in a dominant second half to seal a first-ever trip to the final, which will also feature Lovett or Blessed Trinity. “This is the hump that we needed to get over,” said GAC coach Troy Bendickson, who was pleased at finally reaching the final. “What I said before the game was ‘no more time for words. Words are over.’” Layne Kelly gave Westminster a dream start with a goal just seconds after kickoff. Spartans …

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GAC Boys' Soccer Pummels Thomasville 10-0

The Greater Atlanta Christian boys' soccer team trounced Thomasville 10-0 in the second round of the Class AA State Soccer Tournament.

It was just another day at the office for GAC as they beat Thomasville 10-0 Saturday to advance to the semifinals of the Class AA State Soccer Tournament.     GAC totally dominated the match from start to finish.  In fact, the matched was "over" before it was over due to the GHSA's 10-goal mercy rule.  There was still more than 25 minutes to play.  Kyle Reese put the Spartans on the scoreboard just 1:16 into the match when he took an assist from Stewart Abrahart and scored.  Five minutes later, Denzel Clarke scored the first of his two goals in the match on a header from a Kyle Reese corner kick.       Stevin Bienfait took a long ball from Cameron Johnson and scored to make it 3-0.  Then Clarke scored his second goal of the day, prompting …

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