Sherwood Christian girls soccer team’s senior class will leave big footprint

ALBANY — Tonight will be Senior Night at Sherwood Christian Academy and for the Lady Eagle soccer team, it will be the final regular-season home game for a group that will leave a giant-sized footprint on the school’s soccer program.

A victory over Calvary Christian would secure another region crown for the Lady Eagles and cap another unbeaten season in region play. Sherwood’s only two losses came in tournament play against Holy Spirit Spirit this season.

However, the senior class which consists of Bri Pafford, Kate Johnson, Riley Nobles and Ashley and Aubri Hughes have compiled a combined 46-2 record during the past three seasons, captured back-to-back state titles (one each in the Georgia Independent Schools Association and another in the Georgia Independent Christian Athletic Association) and posted an undefeated regular season in 2015.

Sherwood coaches and fans will honor the senior family who played a huge role in the best soccer run in school history.

“Soccer has been the biggest part of my life,” said Pafford, who plays center back. “It’s hard to look back, but when I do, it’s always a happy feeling.”

The success of the senior class sparked an interest in soccer that Sherwood has never seen before. This season, a trio of eighth-graders are starting, while coach Jayson Davidson said several seventh-graders will likely transition onto the varsity team next year.

But the biggest strength Davidson said behind the senior’s success is a a family-culture they helped create. Team members hang out away from the field and they’ve built life-long friendships. Davidson along with his brother Jeremy as well as their wives have invited team members into their home to eat and watch the World Cup.

It’s not uncommon for players to gather at the Davidsons to play Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly, by far the favorite game to play for most of the team.

And since the Lady Eagles practice with the boys team, they are careful to include their male counterparts.

“We are always together,” said Johnson, who didn’t play for several seasons before re-joining the team this season.

“And all the guys are like our brothers.”

Jayson Davidson admits tonight will be tough, not because he’ll watch five seniors get honored but because he knows the time is winding down on their high school career.

“This group doesn’t care about stats and all that stuff,” Davidson said. “I know it sounds cliche-ish, but they really are like one big family. It’s one of the most cohesive that I’ve ever coached.”

Pafford said if she could change anything about Sherwood’s run, she wouldn’t — not even the team’s two losses.

“It’s a chase,” she said. “But along the way, we’ve been a family.”