St. Pius X captured the fifth and sixth state titles of the 2012-13 school year as both Golden Lion soccer teams took the AAA crown last weekend. It marked the fourth time since 2001 that the squads swept their respective classification championship. Baseball also remains alive as it advanced to the semi-finals after another three-game series win. Boys’ golf played for the state championship Monday. Girls’ lacrosse had individual honors announced last week for two of its team members.
Boys’ soccer did not yield a goal in the post-season as the Golden Lions (19-0-2) captured the AAA championship with a 2-0 win over Woodward. St. Pius X used a first half goal by Tyler Alexander and a tally by J. D. Manzo with just over 20 minutes in regulation to down its Region 6-AAA rival. Ryan Beck kept the War Eagles off the board as the Golden Lions recorded their 16th shutout of the season.
St. Pius X advanced to the title game by defeating Oconee County on Wednesday. After a scoreless first half, Alexander found the back of the net early in the second half. Manzo added a score late in the second half to seal the 2-0 victory. The championship was the eighth in school history and the third in the last five years for the boys’ soccer squad.
Girls' soccer took its fourth title in five years with a 1-0 win over Region 6-AAA foe Blessed Trinity. The Golden Lions (19-1-3) lone score came from junior Amanda Vocelka with just over six minutes to go in regulation. Hannah Smith kept the clean sheet in net for the ladies. The championship was also the seventh crown in school history, all since 1998, and fourth in the past five seasons.
Earlier in the week, the ladies traveled to Buford and won 7-3. After falling behind early, Tiffany Rodriguez and Melissa Pagoaga scored a goal apiece while Vocelka scored two goals to give the Golden Lions a 4-1 lead at the break. The Lady Wolves cut the score to 4-3 with just over 18 minutes remaining before St. Pius X erupted for three goals to provide the final margin.
Baseball defeated Pike County two games to one in the quarterfinal round to advance to play Cartersville starting Monday in Cartersville. In game one, the Golden Lions used a two-run home run by Peter Zyla and four RBI from Grant Williams to win 9-3. Jack Spear worked six and a third innings for the win.
After dropping game two in 12 innings, the two teams met the next day for game three. St. Pius X took an early lead and rode a complete game from Will Robertson to win 8-1. Quincy Nieporte had 3 RBI, including a two-run round tripper to lead the Golden Lions.
Girls' lacrosse had two members named Honorable Mention for the A-AAAAA division. Junior Katie Cordone scored 41 goals with a 52 percent shot success rate, had 12 assists, controlled 35 draws and made 10 interceptions. Sophomore goalie Sally Varner had 175 saves for a 68 percent save rate and 7.2 saves per game.