Providence Christian Boys Enjoy View From the Top

Providence Christian soccer players perhaps never envisioned a six-game win streak, especially after a demoralizing 1-2 season start.

Those losses to Grayson and Greater Atlanta Christian — both in the final minute — made this week's No. 1 state ranking among Class A teams seem improbable.

"It was tough, but we obviously learned from it," Stars coach Todd Henry said of losing in the final 56 and 26 seconds. "It wasn't fun, but looking back, it was probably good for us."

"A blur" was what Henry called the ensuing six-game streak, ironic after Reed Spencer and Evan Pruitt's concussions against GAC. Spencer practiced for the first time Wednesday, and Pruitt hasn't yet overcome persistent headaches. More challenging still, the day after playing GAC, Alan Battista broke his foot and isn't expected back until after spring break.

That makes remarkable the Stars' No. 1 ranking by Eurosportscoreboard.com entering today's Area 4-A game at St. Francis. Providence's streak came to an end Thursday in a shootout loss at Fellowship Christian is a game that had been interrupted last week with the score tied 3-3 after regulation.

"We've been playing with essentially 11 guys, so [the streak] has been pretty incredible," Henry said. "Everyone's getting a lot of playing time, so everyone's happy."

Providence (7-3, 5-1)  outscored opponents 5-1 on average during its streak and dominated St. Francis 7-0 and area counterpart Mount Pisgah 8-1. A 2-1 victory over top-ranked Pace Academy put the Stars above .500, before Matt McGlamery's goal in the 53rd minute beat Wesleyan and Caleb McQuaig's and Taylor Henry's scores ran the streak to six.

There've been the close calls, though, like McGlamery clearing the ball from the goal mouth in the final five seconds to preserve the win over Pace.

"It was right on the line, and I got there just in time for it," said McGlamery, who has seven goals and three assists. "That was probably the most exciting finish we've had all season."

It's been a team effort. Ted Perry has scored seven goals, and Brent Hansen has eight assists. Evan Flowers has spent every minute in net and has allowed just a goal a game on average.

McQuaig, whose team-high nine goals include two hat tricks, considers confidence at an all-time high.

"Even when we've gotten down one or two goals, we've realized we're still in the game and haven't felt like we couldn't come back," he said. "We haven't gotten down on ourselves no matter what the score has been."

The Stars consider their first state championship within reach in the state's first year of separate championships for Class AA and A teams. Providence came close in the fall league in 1993, when it reached the final against Pace, and in the spring of 2007, when it made the final against GAC. But simply making state would be rejuvenative for the Stars, who missed doing so the last two seasons.

"Our first goal is to win area," Henry said. "That's what we have to stay focused on.

"Once that's done, we can focus on state," he added. "The streak isn't on our minds. We're just trying to take it one game at a time."