High school girls soccer playoffs: Northwest falls at defending champion Westminster

Published 9:24 pm Wednesday, April 19, 2023

A Lexi Lyon goal in the final minute of Northwest Whitfield High School’s playoff game at Atlanta’s Westminster cut the Lady Bruins’ deficit to one.

Northwest came out of halftime with a plan to keep climbing back in the game, but it was the hosts that ran away with the win.

Four second-half goals helped Westminster (15-3) knock off Northwest (12-4-1) 6-2 in the second round of the girls Class 4A state playoffs on Wednesday. Westminster advances to the state’s Elite 8, while the Lady Bruins, which had made the Final Four in both of the previous two seasons, end the season in the Sweet 16.

Lyon’s goal flipped momentum just after Westminster went up 2-0.

The Lady Bruins were trailing just 1-0 to the defending Class 3A champions before a goal with two minutes left in the half made the margin 2-0.

Off an assist by Silvana Gomez, Lyon blasted a long-range shot that arced over the Westminster keeper and caught the top of the net.

Westminster went up 3-1 with 25 minutes left, then made it 4-1 with 10 minutes left. Two more late goals ensured the Lady Wildcats would move on and stay alive in the chase for another state championship.