A 2-0 halftime lead would be enough for the Dunwoody Lady Wildcats as they held on to defeat Forsyth Central 3-1 at North DeKalb Stadium on Tuesday to advance to the Class 7A girls’ soccer state playoffs Sweet 16.

It is Dunwoody’s third consecutive season to reach the second of the state playoffs.

Sarah Holland got the Lady Wildcats (14-5-0) off to a quick 1-0 lead as she took a feed out front from Camryn Lampron and put it into the goal with under four minutes gone in the game.

Dunwoody kept the pressure on Forsyth Central goalie Mary Claire Henry who collected four saves in the first half despite the assault by the Lady Wildcats.

Dunwoody finally broke through again with Lampron taking a feed from Kate Barrett with 18:38 left in the half to extend the lead to 2-0.

Forsyth Central (9-7-1) came within inches of cutting the lead in half as a shot with 1:01 just went over the crossbar.

The Bulldogs came out aggressive in the second half and put the pressure on Dunwoody goalie Ella Holland getting three good shots on goal in a three minute span. Holland had one save (33:44) and another shot went just high (31:22) before Becca Wade found the net via a long blast from the right side with 30:33 left in the game to pull Forsyth Central within a goal.

The two teams missed on scoring opportunities over the next 20 minutes, three by Forsyth Central and two by Dunwoody, as the two goalies continued their tough play in net.

Dunwoody all but sealed the game with 10:41 to play when a Kate Barrett shot was deflected to the right side of the goalie allowing Ella Ryan to tap the ball into the open net for a 3-1 advantage.

Forsyth Central missed a shot just wide left with 6:38 to play and then had a goal disallowed for offsides with only 4:35 to play.

Dunwoody which just moved into the Class 7A Top 10 at No. 10 will host the winner of No. 8 Alpharetta and Collins Hill set to be played on Wednesday (4/21). The second round is set for Monday, April 26.

DCSD SOCCER STATE PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, April 20
Class 7A Girls
Dunwoody (14-5-0) 3, Forsyth Central (9-7-1) 1

Class 5A Girls
Chamblee (10-5-0) 1 (5-4 PKS), Jackson County (8-7-1) 1

Class 3A Girls
Oconee Co. (13-2-0) 13, Redan (4-5-0) 0

Wednesday, April 21
Class 7A Boys
Dunwoody (9-7-2) at Forsyth Central (12-4-0), 7:00 pm

Class 5A Boys
Cross Keys (10-4-0) at Clarke Central (11-4-1), TBA

Class 3A Boys
Cedar Grove (8-3-0) at Oconee Co. (11-2-2), 7:30 pm

Thursday, April 22
Class 6A Girls
Northside-WR (4-12-0) at Lakeside (10-6), 5:30 pm, Adams
Tucker (8-10-0) at Lee Co. (10-2-0), 5:00 pm

Class 6A Boys
Tucker (8-9-0) at Lee Co. (5-5-3), 7:00 pm

Class 4A Girls
Southeast Whitfield (9-6-0) vs. Druid Hills (8-8-1), 7:30 pm, Adams
Arabia Mountain (6-8-0) at Heritage-Ringgold (12-4-0), 5:30 pm

Friday, April 23
Class 6A Boys
Houston Co. (5-8-2) at Lakeside (14-2-1), 6:00 pm, Adams

Class 4A Boys
Pickens Co. (11-4-0) at Druid Hills (8-9-1), 8:00 pm Adams
Arabia Mountain (3-10-1) at Southeast Whitfield (12-0-3), 6:00 pm