MILTON, Ga. — After advancing to the Sweet Sixteen, the Eastside Lady Eagles seemed outmatched going up against the No. 1 seed Cambridge Lady Bears. The Lady Eagles’ 2023 season ended with a 10-0 defeat on the road Monday.
Though Eastside didn’t advance, it might not have even made the playoffs in the first place if it wasn’t for a pivotal moment midseason.
The Lady Eagles were 3-6-2 overall and sat outside the top four of Region 8-AAAAA.
Singleton had a special challenge at that point in the season.
“I said, ‘ladies, we have a chance to turn this thing around, we can still make the playoffs and still get a winning record and win a playoff game,’” Singleton said. “[The players] didn’t doubt and they kept believing.”
The Lady Eagles checked off all of those boxes from their head coach.
From that point in the season, Eastside won four of its final five regular season games — the game it didn’t win was a 2-2 tie at non-region opponent Morgan County — finished third in Region 8-AAAAA and defeated No. 2 seed Calhoun 6-1 last week in the first round of the Class AAAAA playoffs.
Even with Monday’s loss, the Lady Eagles still finished above .500 at 8-7-3.
A plethora of obstacles presented themselves to this year’s squad. Some popped up before the season even began.
In September 2022, Mia Mostek — a junior midfielder — tore her ACL, which made her unable to play. Then, sophomore Joanna Funes had to have foot surgery in October causing her to be a late arrival to the team.
Then, during the week of tryouts, both goalkeepers from a year ago told Singleton they decided not to play this year.
Nevertheless, the Lady Eagles didn’t succumb to the hurdles.
They continued their playoff appearance streak (6) and advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the fourth time in program history.
Not only did they make it to the second round, but last week’s first round win holds a special significance, too.
“That now means every senior class since 2018 has had at least one playoff win,” Singleton said. “That was important. We had really good teams in 2020 and 2021, but sometimes that’s how the season works.”
Sophia Leal led Eastside with 12 goals and nine assists followed by Lauren Davis 11 goals and three assists. Nelia Dailey finished the year with 10 goals paired with two assists.
Funes and Abigail Morgan each recorded seven goals, too, contributing to the Lady Eagles’ success along the way.
Though five seniors are graduating, 11 players from this year’s roster are expected to return in 2024, including nine seniors.
Singleton believes this year’s playoff experience under their belt can only benefit them in their future.
“I think what helps is last week, they got to see a No. 2 seed from another region with a really good record and didn't know a thing about them and they got to see that they work just like we do," Singleton said. "And we were that better team that put it on in the second half and controlled the game.”
With all things considered, Singleton considers the 2023 season a successful one for the program.
In fact, Singleton highlighted how this group accomplished something that transcends soccer.
“My message all season has been, ‘Keep pushing, keep working and stay together,” Singleton said. “[This season] started off with a lot of things against us, but we didn’t pack it in.
“To end the season with a winning record after all that adversity while playing some of the best teams in the state? I’m nothing but proud.”
Correspondent Mike Harrison contributed to this report.
