Sherwood Christian girls soccer wins state title again

MCDONOUGH, Ga. — Jordyn Paramore grabbed the trophy from Georgia Independent Christian Athletic Association Executive Director Todd Hannon, then sprinted to her teammates.

Sherwood Christian hoisted the trophy in the air, then danced, celebrated and exchanged hugs.

After winning the state title last year, the first in the school’s history at the time, the Sherwood Christian girls did it again Saturday night, whipping Creekside Christian 5-0.

But unlike last year in a 3-0 shutout of Monsignor Donovan when Sherwood competed as a member of the Georgia Independent Schools Association, this one wasn’t even close.

The Lady Eagles won their 33rd straight match dating back to February, 2014, rolling to an easy victory. SCA coach Jeremy Davidson had a chance to get some younger players into the game.

This one was fun, and Sherwood players enjoyed every minute of it.

“In our team meeting before the game, coach told us as long as we came out and started early, basically we would have the match in our hands,” said senior Kylee Harrod, who scored a pair of goals.

“I was pretty relieved when we scored the first goal. It was so exciting, but everybody settled down and was completely calm after.”

The Lady Eagles definitely played like they had been here and done that before.

They had every reason to get off to a sluggish start. The girls team woke up early to watch the boys play Alleluia in Augusta in the championship game, then made the two-hour drive to south Atlanta for their match.

But the Lady Eagles (17-0) wasted no time. Jordyn Paramore drilled the first goal at the 38:59 mark off an assist from Hannah King and Creekside Christian never seriously threatened.

Harrod scored almost 10 minutes later at the 29:44 mark, taking a long pass from Hannah King to make it 2-0.

But they weren’t finished in the first half. Nearly five minutes later, Paramore booted an unassisted goal from about 40 yards that landed into the back of the net.

With Sherwood’s attack on offense and their stifling defense, this one was over.

“It’s the same sweet and exciting feeling,” Paramore said. “After we scored the first goal, it was like they immediately shut down.”

King provided the dagger at the 23:54 mark of the second half, drilling a deep ball from outside the box off an assist from Alexis Kelley.

Then Harrod added her second goal off an assist from King.

Creekside managed just two shots on goal in the first half. Meanwhile, Sherwood had several other chances and either overshot the goal or had the ball ricochet off the crossbar.

Davidson, who also coaches the boys program, said both teams practiced together all season and it made the Lady Eagles stronger.

“I couldn’t be more prouder of these kids,” he said. “The boys and the girls, they trained hard and worked their tails off during the offseason together. Today, all of their efforts paid off.”

Harrod said winning titles never gets old.

“This is so much sweeter, no doubt,” she said. “In our minds, we knew we could do it.”