EVANS, Ga. -- At the end of the first-round game in the Georgia High School Association Class AAAA boys state soccer tournament, Greenbrier standout Reed Norton made a special point to shake Hardaway goalie David Scott's hand.
Scott played a solid, and at times spectacular, game in goal for the Hawks, but it wasn't enough as they fell to the No. 1 seed Wolfpack, 4-0.
"We're young," Hawks coach Rick Iden said. "Our keeper did a great job. He kept us in the game the whole game. We made a couple of mistakes, and they're a good quality team."
The Hawks finished their season 11-5-2.
Scott recorded 17 saves, seven in the first half, as he stopped the Wolfpack (17-1) on several point-blank chances.
He guessed correctly at the end of the first half on a Luke Waechter penalty kick but didn't come up with the save.
"He went the right way and dived, and he's so tall, I thought he would get it, but I placed it just right," said Waechter, who scored with 4:21 left in the first half. "I knew it was an important moment. It helped us pick up our intensity."
Offensively, the Hawks were unable to generate any kind of pressure in the Wolfpack's end of the field, and the Wolfpack began to finish shots.
Playing in his first state playoff game, freshman Logan Tihey was the big goal scorer for the Wolfpack. Tihey scored on a rebound at the 26:42 mark, then put the ball in a wide-open net at 18:24 after receiving a cross from Bryan Thompson.
Thompson also scored the Wolfpack's third goal, blasting it past the goalie, rewarding Norton who gave him a perfect pass.
Still, Iden saw positives.
"The first half is what we can take away from it," Iden said. "We had a great first half against these guys. We played them toe-to-toe, and it was a great first half."
Tuesday at Greenbrier
Goals: Greenbrier-Logan Tihey (2), Luke Waechter, Bryan Thompson Assist: Greenbrier-Reed Norton, Thompson Goalkeepers: Hardaway-David Scott (17 saves). Greenbrier-Zack Maxwell (1 save).
Records: Hardaway 11-5-2; Greenbrier 17-1 Next: Greenbrier vs TBD, Tuesday, second round state playoffs
