The Long County Blue Tide soccer teams ended the 2024 regular season on a high note when they hosted the Groves Rebels on Tuesday, April 9 for senior night. It was a pair of shutout victories as the Lady Tide rolled to a 10-0 mercy rule win while the boys held on for a 1-0 victory.
The Lady Tide needed a win over the Rebels to clinch a state playoff berth for the 10th season in a row and they wasted little time getting out in front.
From the 10th minute to the 19th minute, they scored four goals, one coming from freshman Jersi Lester, who took an assist from sophomore Macey Higgason, and the next three coming from Higgason herself for a flawless hat trick.
Ciara O’Brien was next on the board in the 27th minute as her corner kick bounced off the goalkeeper and into the net to make the score 5-0 with 13 minutes left in the half.
Higgason added one more goal in the last 10 minutes of the half after she took a pass from Ananayely Martinez to put her team up 6-0 at the half.
Not only was the Lady Tide dominating on the offensive side, they did so on defense too. They controlled the ball for most of the half and kept the Rebels from crossing midfield for majority of the time.
The Tide outshot the Rebels 9-0 in the first half.
Just two minutes into the second half, senior Ava McNeel became the only senior to score for the Lady Tide as she slipped a shot past the goalie to make the score 7-0. Myjah Fedon, Makailah Quintero, and Reese Davis scored from the 51st minute to the 73rd minute to end the game.
With the win, the Lady Tide finish the regular season 13-3 and 4-3 in the region, clinching the fourth seed in the state playoffs. They will travel to west Georgia in the first round on Tuesday, April 16. Their opponent has yet to be determined.
The boys already had locked up a playoff spot for the ninth year in a row, but they were still fighting for a home game in the first round of the playoffs. It was a defensive slugfest for the entire game, but a mistake early in the game was the difference maker.
Senior Austine Mwita was alone going toward the goal as he took a deep shot that got past the keeper, who had come up in the box.
The Rebel keeper tried to save it but ended up kicking the ball back into his net, counting as an own goal. Mwita was credited with the score.
A Rebel crosser just missed in the 11th minute while the defense played huge for the Tide for the rest of the game.
Seniors Trent Rutherford and keeper Kamdyn Gramsch-Milliken were big for the Tide as they made plays in the first half to keep the Rebels off the board.
Rutherford knocked away a shot that would have surely gotten past Milliken, who fell on the shot. Milliken stayed on his feet for the remainder of the time, racking up seven saves in the first half.
Luis Hernandez had a shot on goal in the 23rd minute, but it clanged off the crossbar. Mwita looked to put another goal under his name, but it was kicked away at the last minute.
Hernandez made a big save in the 54th minute that led to a free kick for the Rebels.
Miliken made a big save to tip the ball away to preserve the game. Fourteen minutes later, he dove out to stop a shot. He ended the game with 15 saves on the night.
With the win, the Tide finish the regular season 12-3-2 and 6-1 in the region. They clinched the second seed and a home playoff game for the first time since 2022.
They will host the first round on April 17.