THOMASVILLE – The Thomasville Bulldogs boys’ soccer team secured their spot in the state championship game with a 2-1 win over Fannin County in the semi-finals.

“The fans were fantastic. It was loud all game long,” said head coach Robert Peterson after the win. “Hard fought game, heck of a team, and that just came down to grit at the end. Just continuing to fight and work and trying to find that last goal.”

It felt like a stale mate until Farid Gonzalez netted the Bulldogs first goal of the game towards the end of the second half with 11 minutes to go.

However, the Bulldogs surrendered a tying goal on a penalty-kick a little over five minutes later.

Gonzalez would help out the team once more with just three minutes to go, when he found Gio Ulloa at the goal mouth for the game-winning goal.

Gonzalez is now looking forward to heading to the GHSA A1-D1 State Championship.

“It feels great,” he said. “We have put in the hard work this season and we deserve it,” Gonzalez said.

A sophomore, Gonzalez is hoping the team redeems itself after being knocked out in the second round of playoffs during the 2024 season.

“I feel like we could’ve gone farther, so it’s just great to be here with this team and go to state,” he said.

Peterson echoed Gonzalez’s excitement.

“It’s just exciting,” Peterson said. “I’m happy for these boys, they worked really hard, and they deserve it.”

Thomasville will face Armuchee out of Rome, Georgia in the state title game. The Indians went 14-5 and won their region with a 6-1 record. They beat Model 3-1 in the semi-finals for the second time this year to punch their ticket to the state championship game. It is worth noting that Thomasville and Armuchee share a similar opponent. Fannin County, who Thomasville beat in the semi-finals 2-1, faced Armuchee in the regular season, beating the Indians 2-1 in overtime.

Armuchee entered the playoffs as a four seed and the top seed in their region of the bracket. They defeated Bleckley County 12-2 in round one, Fitzgerald 5-1, Toombs County 2-1 in the elite eight, and Model 3-1 in the semi-finals.

The state title matchup between Thomasville and Armuchee will take place on Tuesday, May 13, at McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Georgia.