Savannah Arts Academy's campaign as a contender for a state girls' soccer title got a boost earlier this season from St. Vincent's Academy.
The Saints handed SAA's Panthers their first and only loss so far, and it wasn't pretty, 7-0 on March 5. In this case, losing had a positive impact.
"St. Vincent's definitely helped us quite a bit," said SAA coach Jdhordane Williams, whose team trailed for the first time in its seventh match of the season.
"I told the girls, if we get to a state championship this year, we're all going to write thank-you letters to St. Vincent's because, up until that point, we hadn't truly been challenged," he continued. "I appreciate St. Vincent's. It was one of those moments in those games where we felt what it felt like to get knocked on your butt a little bit. It kind of woke us up."
Williams and the team made adjustments after what he called a flat performance, using the loss to unbeaten St. Vincent's as a reference in practice sessions.
The Panthers (13-1) haven't lost since, posting their season-best seventh consecutive win on Tuesday in a dominant display, 7-0, over host South Effingham in a non-region match in Rincon.
Amelia Reci scored five of those goals and added an assist on one of sophomore forward Jordan Gunn's two scores. Gunn was credited with two assists, while Amelia Tvrdy, Serra Olin, Angelina Oetting, and Brooklyn Linstroth recorded one apiece, according to SAA.
PHOTO: Savannah Arts Academy's Amelia Reci pushes past a South Effingham defender during the Panthers' shutout victory - courtesy Birk Herrath Photogrpahy
Starting goalkeeper Kate Branson (nine saves) was rarely tested as the Panthers kept the ball the large majority of the time on the Mustangs' side of the field. Branson, a junior, exited late in the second half and recorded the shutout with senior goalie Maxx Grant.
Reci, a junior who plays striker, midfielder, and wing, raised her season total to 25 goals and five assists in 11 games, while Gunn has team bests with 33 goals and 19 assists in 13 games.
"It's not really a competition because we're teammates," said Reci, a three-year starter who has 116 goals and 27 assists in 47 career matches for averages of 2.5 goals and 5.5 points per game, according to MaxPreps. "It's nice to keep getting goals. … No worries about that. We're best friends."
Reci said Class 2A Savannah Arts was concerned about South Effingham (7-8), a Class 5A squad.
"We all played really well as a team," Reci said. "We have good chemistry. We all tried really hard, even though we don't have as many girls to pick from."
Williams shared the concern that the Mustangs, fielding a team from a much larger student population, presented a challenge.
"Just by sheer numbers, I was expecting them to have the physicality and athletes at certain positions that we're going to have to struggle," Williams said. "Maybe we had some things technically that we could take advantage of, but at the end of the day, you can't teach speed, you can't teach size."
The Panthers, who captured the Region 3-2A title at 6-0, have two games remaining on their regular-season schedule at Class 6A power Richmond Hill on April 15 and hosting Class 4A New Hampstead on April 17.
"I have some girls who are quite skilled, but at the end of the day, one of the things we struggle with is the speed that some of the other teams have at certain positions," Williams said. "You might have somebody who is equal in talent, but they're just a little bit faster, a little bit bigger. So that's an advantage. I'm having to try to scheme against that a lot of the times when we play some of the bigger programs."
Panthers corral Mustangs
Savannah Arts took advantage early on Tuesday, going up 1-0 on Reci's penalty kick at the 4:30 mark. She repeated the process of drawing a foul and converting the penalty kick at 8:40, which was gone in the first half. About two minutes later, the Panthers took off with an overwhelming three-goal run in 120 seconds.
Reci netted a goal at the 10:30 mark, then she assisted on Gunn's first score at 12:05. Gunn made it 5-0 at the 12:30 mark.
"That's the way it goes sometimes," Williams said of the scoring flurry. "It's kind of like when you've got the hot hand, you keep going back to that player."
When Reci beat the defense on a clean look at the 25:55 mark, she notched her fourth goal of the half.
South Effingham senior goalie Valencia Collins, who made several strong saves and kept rebounds to a minimum, had to feel outnumbered during the scoring wave.
SAA counted 17 shots on goal, including five apiece from Reci and Gunn, in the first half.
The second half was much quieter, with Branson and Collins taking good lines when attackers neared and showing solid hands.
The lone score was Reci's fifth of the game when she dribbled past a defender and went straight at Collins, who had to guess where the shot was directed and had almost no chance with about 18:21 left in regulation. Reci said her single-game best was seven goals on February 11 in a 9-0 win over Islands.
Williams explained that Reci, 16, stayed in the contest for more minutes, as she had missed three games about halfway through the season. Reci, who was born in Savannah to parents who were native to Albania, was in Europe playing for Albania's girl's under-17 national team.
"Her getting back and getting a rhythm just before state (playoffs), sometimes you've got to leave them in," Williams said. "Sometimes you've going to have moments in those highs, but you've also got to let them ride those lows as well so they can get back to the high the next game."
The coach is feeling good about the team's trajectory and overall health. He's also fine with the Panthers' recognition in state polls. SAA is No. 9 in Class 2A on scorbord.com and No. 7, according to MaxPreps, which also has the Panthers No. 7 in the Savannah metro area behind No. 1 Richmond Hill.
"It is a good thing because I've been on the flipside of that where we're having to travel," Williams said of power rankings determining playoff seeding. "Traveling can actually make or break you sometimes. Traveling four or five hours to go play against an opponent in an unfamiliar situation can be tough sometimes. The fact that we're ranked in the position we are right now, if we get some home-field advantage, that's nice."
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy Birk Herrath Photography
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