The Walton Lady Raiders rallied from a 2-1 deficit to pull out a 3-2 overtime win against the Dunwoody Wildcats in the third round of the Class 7A girls’ state soccer playoffs at North DeKalb Stadium on Thursday evening.

Trailing 2-1 with just over seven minutes to play Walton’s Brooke Dean scored her second goal of the game to even the score at 2-2 and eventually send the two Top 10 ranked teams into overtime.

During the first overtime period Dunwoody goalie Ella Holland made a diving save as the clock was ticking towards the six minute mark, but the ball bounced away.

Being in the right place at the right time was all that could be said as Walton’s Emma Graham got the loose ball and knocked it into the net for the game deciding goal with 6:05 left.

Dunwoody had 16 minutes left to try to tie the game but could not get close enough for a good shot until with about three minutes remaining, they got a corner kick.

The ball was lofted inside, batted around and the Walton goalie left one side of the goal open trying to get to the ball. Dunwoody got the ball, but the shot popped up just over the goal and out of bounds.

Dunwoody (15-6-0) never got a solid shot off the rest of the way as Walton played keep away sending the ball back up field at every opportunity.

Walton (14-4-0) grabbed a quick 1-0 lead in the first 2:35 of the game as Dean hit a shot to make it 1-0.

A hand-ball penalty in front of the Walton goal set up a penalty kick for Dunwoody. Lily Garrigan lined up for the shot and put it past Walton goalie Laila Allen into the left corner of the net to knot the game at 1-1 with 27:12 to play.

Dunwoody pulled ahead with 7:12 to play in the first half as a corner kick off the foot of Kate Barrett fell in perfect to teammate Julia Gild who headed the ball past defenders into the goal for the lead.

Ella Holland had a busy night in goal with at least 12 big saves including diving stops and coming out to take the ball away from attackers. She had two in the final 2:57 of regulation, one a diving stop near the post, to ensure the teams went to overtime.

Class 6A Boys
The Tucker Tigers’ strong run to the Elite 8 ended in a 4-0 loss to No. 1 ranked Dalton on Thursday night as they played their third consecutive road game in the Class 6A state playoffs.

Tucker finishes the season 10-11 overall.

Dalton (18-0-2) advances to take on DeKalb’s Lakeside Vikings (17-2-1) ranked No. 7 in the state semifinals. The game is scheduled for Tuesday, May 11 at Dalton’s Harmon Stadium, the time is yet to be announced. Lakeside knocked off No. 3 ranked Central Gwinnett on Wednesday night 3-1 to move into the program’s 14th semifinal appearance.

DCSD STATE SOCCER PLAYOFFS RESULTS
Elite 8 Round
Thursday, May 6
Class 7A Girls
Walton (15-3-0) 3, Dunwoody (15-6-0) 2

Class 6A Boys
Dalton (18-0-2) 4, Tucker (10-11) 0

DCSD STATE SOCCER PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
Tuesday, May 11
Class 6A Boys Semifinals
Lakeside (17-2-1) at Dalton (18-0-2), TBA, Harmon Stadium