Samuel Orr’s goal sends Sherwood boys soccer team to title game

ALBANY — – It was the type of game one would expect for a state soccer championship.

However, it was the Georgia Independent Christian state semifinals.

Both the Sherwood Christian Eagles and the Community Christian Knights engaged in a fierce battle Monday night at Sam J. Smith Stadium.

But Samuel Orr’s goal midway through the first half was the difference in the Eagles’ hard-fought 1-0 victory over the defending GICAA state champions, sending Sherwood into the state championship game this weekend.

Seth King headed the ball off a throw-in and it ricocheted off a Community Christian defender. Orr gathered the ball and went around the defender and put it past goalkeeper Ben Davidson to give the Eagles the deciding goal.

“I’m thankful for our team. We played well. Thank you Jesus,” Orr said.

After the game, Sherwood head coach Jeremy Davidson told his team that he couldn’t have been more proud of their effort, but he was also proud of the effort of Community Christian.

“I give all the credit in the world to Community Christian. They came out and battled hard,” Davidson said. “I felt like we had the run-of-play the first half. My boys really put the ball on the ground and moved the ball around. We had them on their heels the whole time. Sammy got the goal, a huge goal. I told the guys at halftime that all you need to go t0 the state championship is one goal. It’s all about fight now.”

The Eagles were aggressive from the start, but the Knights were up to the task defensively, turning away several chances from SCA. The Eagles’ first opportunity came when King took a shot that hit the crossbar.

Orr had a chance to score when his volley off an SCA throw-in went wide.

The Knights also had chances to score, but the Sherwood back line was solid as they negated the Knights’ opportunities. As a result, the hard-fought first half ended with the Eagles up 1-0.

The second half between the two sides was just as physical and intense with both teams having opportunities. Late in the game, King took a pass from Emmanuel Davis and was one-on-one with Davidson, but his shot sailed over the crossbar.

The Knights also created chances to score, but the Sherwood defense did not break. SCA goalkeeper Dallas Ashburn’s performance was also key to the Eagles advancing as he made some key saves.