The Bears hosted a dangerous Allatoona High School squad, at home on Wednesday night, May 2nd, in front of a loud and supportive fan base that hit record attendance numbers. Allatoona came in as a #3 seed from a very tough Region 8 having beat Douglas County 6-2 in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Bears controlled the match building out of the back early and often and had numerous shots on goals while holding Allatoona to none. Then at the 12th minute mark, Reece Degan found the back of the net with the outside of his left foot, Cambridge 1 Allatoona 0. Just two minutes later at the 14 minute mark, Allatoona scored off a header, from a direct kick; Cambridge 1 Allatoona 1. At the 23rd minute mark, John Barton connected with John Crawley who placed the ball in the back of the net, Cambridge 2 Allatoona 1. Then at the 27th minute mark, after a build up from the back, John Crawley found the back of the net, Cambridge 3 Allatoona 1. The Bears continued to control the ball and pace of the match throughout the first half. Nearing the end of the first half, a questionable penalty in the box was called against Cambridge and Allatoona converted the opportunity to goal, Cambridge 3 Allatoona 2.
The second half opened with Allatoona throwing more players into the attack and leaving the midfield open for Bears counter attacks. Although the Cambridge defense was often pressed in their own 18 yard box, the Bears continued to control the match while the visitors began to show fatigue. In the 41st minute, Jarvin Ramirez scored off an assist from Reece Degan, Cambridge 4 Allatoona 2. After allowing four goals, the visitors fatigue resulted in numerous errors . In the 55th minute, Jarvin Ramirez bent the ball inside the far post from just outside the left side of the 18 yard box, Cambridge 5 Allatoona 2. With 25 minutes left in the match and their season at risk of ending, the visitors began to panic. The Bears increased their control and dominance of the match with many scoring opportunities. Then in the 68th minute Jabar Obied scored off an assist from Reece Degan, Cambridge 6 Allatoona 2. Up 4 goals with 12 minutes to play both teams began to substitute freely and then 2 minutes later in the 70th minute Trey Rielly found the back of the net, Cambridge 7 Allatoona 2. The final score came in the 79th minute when Christian Guzman netted the ball off an assist from Ben Barfield, final score Cambridge 8 Allatoona 2.
With this result, the Bears advance to Elite 8 for the third year in a row and will play Greenbrier, the #1 seed from Region 3 at home.
Come out and support your Bears and cheer them to a Final Four Appearance Saturday May 5 at 7:00PM at the CHS Stadium, Bear Nation!!.
Go Bears!