COVINGTON, Ga. — Both of Eastside’s soccer teams left Sharp Stadium victorious on Wednesday with wins over Alcovy. In each game, a strong scoring output from the green and white proved to be too much for the Tigers.
Fans in attendance were treated to a pair of Eastside hat tricks courtesy of Samia Peek and Jonathan Gomez. Alcovy’s teams scored one goal apiece on solo efforts from Zariah Strozier and Junior Borja.
Lady Eagles 6, Lady Tigers 1
It did not take long for the Lady Eagles to mount a sizable lead on Wednesday.
The Lady Eagles dominated possession for most of the day, and it resulted in the team’s first shot attempt just three minutes in.
Katheryn Wilber moved into the box and took her chance at goal, but the Lady Tigers’ keeper made the block. However, Peek swooped in and scored off the re-direct.
Peek normally controls the defensive half for the Lady Eagles, but head coach Yalisa Vega decided to move her up for Wednesday’s non-region bout. Despite Peek’s time spent on the back line, she made the most of her time on the attack.
“Samia plays on the defensive line normally, so in a way she is like a secret weapon that we pulled out today,” Vega said. “No one really expected it so we were all just impressed and happy overall. I think she did awesome.”
Two minutes later, Peek netted a brace with another strike from close range.
At the 30-minute mark, a corner from the Lady Eagles was placed perfectly as it found its way to none other than Peek. Peek one-touched the ball into the corner of the net as she secured her hat trick and a 3-0 lead for Eastside.
With momentum seeming to be all in favor of the Lady Eagles, Alcovy broke through with the help of its top ball-striker.
Eastside was passing the ball at the back line before the South Carolina signee raced in for the interception.
After she gained possession, Strozier sprinted past the Lady Eagles defenders before she beat the keeper for an Alcovy goal.
The Lady Tigers found themselves with only a few chances for the remainder of the contest, but none ended in the back of the net.
For the Lady Eagles, the answer came over 40 minutes later.
The two teams battled through most of the second half without a goal, but that changed when Wilber scored a re-direct with 10 minutes left in the action.
Wilber had multiple chances in the first half on seperate set pieces, but the senior kickstarted a trio of late goals for the Lady Eagles.
Three minutes later, Janelle Ferdilus evaded the Alcovy back line before she placed a perfect shot in the side-netting.
In the final minute, an Alcovy foul resulted in a set piece with just seven seconds left. As the Lady Eagles raced to get in position, Ryleigh Powers took the free kick and slotted it right past the keeper for a goal as time expired.
Power’s goal made it a 7-1 win for Eastside as the team ended a two-game skid.
For Vega, a lot of the differences on Wednesday came from a schematic shift.
“The last two games we played a more defensive formation, a 4-5-1,” Vega said. “Today, we tried a 4-4-2, so I think it definitely helped us get more shots on goal. Since the 4-5-1 is more defensive, we just don't have a ton of people up.”
Vega noted how the team has used non-region games such as Wednesday’s to perfect specific formations ahead of the bulk of region play.
Alcovy and head coach Irvin Colbourne were without one of their stop scorers on Wednesday, but the first-year coach was pleased with the effort from one of the team’s other options.
“We missed one of our key players who was injured, Jasmyne Boney,” Colbourne said. “So it was basically shifting the game and shifting around our players to fill in that gap. Angelina Cruz did a great job today.
Eastside 7, Alcovy 1
In the early going of Wednesday’s boy’s matchup, the Tigers looked to be orchestrating an upset.
Alcovy entered the game still in search of the team’s first win of 2026, and Borja wasted no time in an attempt to change that.
Eastside looked to control early possession, but a turnover on the defensive half ended with the ball at the feet of Borja, who ran down for a solo run.
A pair of Eagles closed in, but Borja shot to his left to beat the keeper and score the first goal of the match.
The Tigers went on to have a few shots on goal later in the second half, but the rest of the game belonged to the Eagles.
“In the first half for the most part, the defense played well,” Colbourne said. “After I had a few players getting winded I started to sub-in and sub-out and the players I needed to go in and keep the intensity did not. For the first half the defense played well. In the second half, we had a few opportunities when the midfielders and strikers came through, we just didn't get the ball in the back of the net.”
Four minutes after Borja’s goal, Jonathan Gomez delivered the equalizer when he scored off a Hudson Harris assist.
The two teams remained deadlocked for the next 15 minutes, but freshman Joel Funes put the Eagles in front with emphasis.
The first-year starter dribbled to just outside the box before he sent a rocket into the back of the net for a goal.
With five minutes left in the half, Gomez delivered once again.
Gomez received the pass in the box and curved his shot around a closing-defender as the ball hit off the post before it went into the back of the net.
After a 10-goal season as a sophomore, Gomez has appeared to take a significant step up, according to head coach Jabari Bennett.
“Gomez, this year he has really turned it on,” Bennett said. “In games where I was expecting it and in games when I wasn’t, he has really improved this year. Both as a soccer player and a football player, too. He has done an amazing job. He is a great kid, a one of a kind kid. You cant ask anymore of him, he did his job today and he did it well. Compared to last year, it is a definite step up.”
The shot from Gomez gave Eastside a 3-1 lead at halftime.
After three goals in the entirety of the first half, Eastside put up three goals in the first three minutes of the second half.
Less than a minute into the half, Nathan Thomas beat the Alcovy back line for the Eagles’ fourth goal. Shortly after, Harris joined the action with almost the exact same run and shot.
With 37 minutes still on the clock, Funes netted a brace with a close-range shot.
For Bennett, the change in the second half just boiled down to the execution.
“For us in the second half, it was us finishing our chances more than not,” Bennett said. “I made it very clear at halftime, ‘You have to finish your chances. If you don't finish your chances, you are not going to win games.’ It is what caused us to lose our game against Walnut Grove. Not finishing our chances caused us to lose against Loganville. Once you finish those chances early enough, it changes the game entirely. This game, especially at a high school level, is a very mental game. Once you score one, two or three back-to-back like that it can raise morale for your team and demoralize the other.”
Colbourne noted how the team’s mindset near the end of the first half led to an even larger deficit by game’s end.
“It was a county rivalry as usual,” Colbourne said. “Last year they got mercy ruled, so in the back of their mind it was like, ‘I don't want to get mercy ruled.’ They got off to such a hot start and that is what we have been drilling them about all week. They got off to the hot start but somewhere along the line they lost focus. Once they lost focus and Eastside scored, it was, ‘Oh my gosh here they come.’ I think it was more of them hearing the footsteps coming up instead of sticking to the game plan.”
Thirty minutes passed before the next goal arrived, but it proved to be worth the wait for Gomez as he secured a hat trick with a low shot from outside the box.
Similar to the girl’s team, Eastside’s boys group ended a two-game losing streak with the win on Wednesday.
However, Bennett emphasized the lessons that needed to be learned over the last two weeks.
“They learned we can’t take the pressure off,” Bennett said. “From the last two games, especially the Walnut Grove game, they realized that it’s serious now. We are not the same team as last year, and that’s OK — we have a lot of young guys and they are all still learning. I think they are starting to figure out that this is actually serious. This is the time now where we have to play seriously.
What’s Next
The Eagles resume Region 8-AAAA play today when they host East Forsyth. After that is a matchup on the road against Madison County on Friday, March 20.
After the losses on Wednesday, Alcovy returned to Sharp Stadium on Thursday and picked up a pair of wins over Utopian Academy.
The Tigers will pick back up in Region-AAAAA play when they face Winder-Barrow on the road on Friday, March 27.
