JA Raider Soccer entered the postseason as the #2 seed in the Division 1 Soccer Semifinals and took on Jackson Prep in a rubber match to decide who would head to the State Championship Game. Both teams had excellent opportunities to score in the first half but Andrew Burks for JA and Walker Headley for Prep both stood firm in goal and didn?t allow a single shot past them as the two teams played to a scoreless first half. In the second half, JA would shift into playing into the wind which forced them to have to keep the ball below the driving breeze. In the 48th minute, Ben Jones drew a foul from the Patriots to set up the Raiders from 33 yards out. Tate Collins knew he had to keep it low and under the wind which he did as he slid it past Headley for his team leading 14th goal of the year. Prep continued to push on the offensive end and got a free kick opportunity themselves from Lewis Knotts that was just deflected over the goal by Burks. The Raiders held on for the 1-0 decision, moving their record to 16-2-1 and securing a spot in the State Championship Game on Monday against Hartfield Academy. The match will be at 11:00am at MRA and featured on the MAIS Championship Network.

Pic courtesy of iE3Photo.