POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. —The Social Circle Lady Redskins' 2024 campaign ended Tuesday with a 8-1 loss to Paideia in the Class A-Division I championship at McEachern High School.

After a playoff run that consisted of wins over Elbert County, Whitefield Academy, East Laurens and Mount Vernon, Social Circle was set with a matchup with Paideia, who beat it in the Final Four just a year prior.

Ultimately, the Lady Pythons defense proved too much for the Lady Redskins as Paideia kept Social Circle from creating scoring opportunities throughout the contest.

The match began with Paideia on the offensive.

Just a minute after the game began, the Lady Pythons got on the board with a goal from Camille MclIvoy.

McIlvoy’s goal went just under the hands of Lady Redskins’ keeper Gentrie Mobley, who attempted the save.

Social Circle’s lone goal of the championship match followed to tie the game 1-1.

With the Lady Redskins on the attack, Faith Young took a shot from outside the box that took a big bounce over the Paideia keeper and into the goal for the equalizer.

The score from Young was the only goal conceded by Paideia in the 2024 playoffs.

However, the Lady Pythons answered Young’s goal with seven unanswered of their own.

Mobley made a quick save later in the half, but the ball bounced right to Olivia Colby, who deposited the ball into the back of the net to give Paideia the lead.

Colby netted a brace shortly after to extend the lead to 3-1.

Goals from McIlvoy and Eva-Jean Young made it a 5-1 lead for the Lady Pythons going into intermission.

Social Circle head coach Heather Richardson had nothing but good things to say about the Lady Pythons following Tuesday’s match.

“They all handled the ball well, they are really fast,” Richardson said. “They pass the ball around and they get the ball wide. They are a good team all the way around.”

In the second half, the Lady Redskins made a move to send forward Alana Ferguson into defense to provide extra speed on the back line.

This prevented fewer goals in the second half, but the Lady Pythons still added three more. 

Following a long stalemate to open the half, Eva-Jean netted a brace with 22 minutes left in the game.

Afterwards, Colby earned her hat trick on a penalty kick. 

Suriyah Frame scored Paideia’s eighth and final goal of the game to set up the Lady Pythons with a 8-1 win in the Class A-Division I title game.

Social Circle senior and Lady Redskins all-time leading scorer, Peyton Brooks, played her final game for Social Circle on Tuesday. 

Richardson spoke about how much Brooks has meant to the team and the program as a whole after the game.

“She has meant a whole bunch to this program. She has taken us places that have been super fun because of her ability to score goals," Richardson said. "I just hate that her last game ended like this. I told her, ‘It’s better to be here than not make it.’ She is a big reason why we were here in the first place.”

The loss ended Social Circle’s season as the runner-up in Class A-Division I with a 17-3-1 record overall. In Region 5A-Division I, the Lady Redskins finished in first place with a 6-0 record.

With many players returning, Richardson shared what she wants them to take from this season’s playoff run.

“Just the pride you have in making this far,” Richardson said. “Beating the teams we did to be here — it was a big job. I want them to hold their heads up and we will take that momentum into the next season.”