Portal Elite 8 girls soccer scored 8 goals after being beaten 6-0 by GMC Prep

Colby Stewart’s second-half hat trick helped the Portal Lady Panthers to a 6-0 victory Tuesday at the Portal Athletic Complex over Georgia Military Academy Prep and advance to the state 1A-Division 2 Elite 8 playoffs. .

Portal is now 13-2-1 and will face Augusta Aquinas on Monday. Although the Panthers are the 1 seed, it was uncertain whether they would make the quarterfinals.

Portal got two goals from Maggie Brannen in the first half, and then, with less than 30 seconds left before halftime, forward Madison Nesmith fired a shot from about 30 yards out over the injured GMC goalie to give Portal the lead. 3-0 lead.

“We started the game fast and scored early, which was huge,” said Panther coach Johnny Sanchez. “We’ve stressed the team a lot this year and they’ve bought in. We’ve stressed how important all 11 people on the field are and they played hard for themselves and their teammates.”

The Panther defense played a key role in the victory according to Sanchez. Not only preventing GMC from Milledgeville from scoring, but also getting the ball forward to start the break on offense.

“Our defense has been good all year,” Sanchez said. “The goal of every game is to keep a clean sheet and protect the goal as much as you can. Those girls back there are strong and very proud of their work.”

The win showed how far the Panthers have come in a short period of time. The last time they played, GMC won, 10-1, in 2019.

“We’ve all come so far, so fast,” Sanchez said. “They just started kicking the ball forward and trying to get it back down, but now we’re doing a good job with the plays and the girls are continuing to improve their soccer skills.”