COVINGTON, Ga. — Although the Eastside soccer teams came up short of winning region or state championships, 2019 was still a banner season for both programs — a fact evidenced by the 16 Eastside boys and girls who were named to All-Region 4-AAAA teams.
For the Lady Eagles, in all there were eight players who made the girls squad, including four — Aralyn Everett, Liz Ozburn, Lauren Gates and Anna Shelton — who made the first team.
Everett, a sophomore striker, led the area with 34 goals for the season and showed herself as one of the top young soccer players in the state. Not far behind her was Katie Oakley who scored north of 20 goals this season. She joined freshman Lizzie Teasley on the second team.
Rounding out the Eastside representation on the girls’ side was Bailey Love and Malaya Yamasaki who both were named to the Region 4-AAAA third team.
On the boys’ side, midfielder Creighton Goerner, defender Kevin Manley and goalkeeper Jackson Hamby were Eastside’s first-team selections. Forward Jackson Jolley, an Erskine College signee, sophomore midfielder Jordan Beam and junior defender Tristan Aldridge were selected to the second team while Anthony Lee and Hunter Rowell were slotted to the third team.
Eastside’s boys squad finished the season with a 12-3-1 record and a 6-1 mark in Region 4-AAAA, losing only to Druid Hills in a game that decided a region championship. Meanwhile, the Lady Eagles finished 15-4-1, also with a 6-1 region record, losing only to Woodward Academy.
The Lady Eagles finished No. 8 in the Class AAAA poll after a quarterfinals loss to Blessed Trinity in the state playoffs. Both teams will return a huge chunk of their rosters for the 2020 season and will likely be region favorites.