The Richmond Hill girls and boys soccer teams are in the midst of stellar seasons as the teams prepare for the Class 6A State playoffs after winning Region 1-6A titles.On Tuesday night, the Wildcat teams looked strong in non-region victories over visiting Savannah Country Day. The girls beat the Hornets 3-0 to improve to 16-0 on the season, while the Wildcat boys beat SCD 3-1.The Wildcat girls are playing at an elite level under second year coach Shawn Allen ― having outscored opponents 92-8. Richmond Hill is ranked No. 3 among Class 6A teams in the state by Score Atlanta.Sophomore Aubrey Fanning fired a shot off the crossbar in the 20th minute as the Wildcats began to push the pace.

Makaylyn Martin found the back of the net in the 34th minute on an assist from freshman Karley Shultz and the Wildcats led 1-0 at intermission.Becca Carpenter knocked home a cross in the 62nd minute for Richmond Hill. Five minutes later, senior Ella Peterson had the goal of the game, taking a short pass from Sydney Shaw, and blasting an unforgettable shot from the left side of the field from about 25 yards out that curled in just under the crossbar in the right corner of the net.It was the 27th goal of the season for Peterson, who has signed to play at the Virginia Military Institute."I think the difference this year is that all of our seniors have played with the freshmen, who came onto the team this season, in the past.

So we already knew each other and had already developed the chemistry that has been so important," Peterson said. "We're getting recognized in some of the state rankings this year, and I think that is motivating for us."Richmond Hill has won five straight region titles. The Wildcats reached the state quarterfinals in 2023, and advanced to the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs the last two seasons.

The Wildcats are set to host Discovery in a first-round playoff game on April 23.The Wildcats have plenty of star power. Senior goal keeper Kamryn Martinez was named the Region Player of the Year as a junior and has signed to play at Dalton State. Edyne Perry-Anderson and Maggie Dodge are stars of the junior class who have committed to VMI and the University of North Georgia, respectively, Allen said."We didn't graduate a lot of players from last year's team, so we have that extra year of experience.

We have more depth and everything is coming together. Our team is just solid, all the way around," Allen said. "If one player isn't having their best game, there is always someone else there to pick them up."The Wildcat boys improved to 13-3 on the season with the win over the Hornets (12-4), the Region 3A Division I champions.Richmond Hill jumped out to a quick lead on a goal by senior Hassan King in the 10th minute.

Junior forward John Lopez converted a penalty kick in the 14th minute and then took a nice cross from Cam Persinger to convert from inside 10 yards in the 26th minute as the Wildcats went up 3-0 at the half.Savannah Country Day's Britt McCormick made a steal early in the second half and his defensive effort paid off seconds later when he beat the Wildcat keeper to score the Hornets only goal of the game.This is the fifth season leading the program for Wildcat coach Stephen Peterson, and he said this is the best squad he has had. He said he thinks his team is surging at the right time with the playoffs set to start on April 24, when Richmond Hill will host a tough Collins Hill squad.

"The guys have this connectiveness ― they really love each other," Peterson said. "They hang out at school and on the weekends and you can see that off the field stuff helps create chemistry on the field. They are technically proficient, but it's how they put it together.

The have the ability to take advantage of any vulnerability the other team shows. They are very good at adapting to whatever the opportunity is."Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMNThis article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Richmond Hill girls and boys soccer teams excelling as playoffs loom