Pace Academy gets back in win column after defeating Woodward Academy
The Pace Academy Knights are in the midst of their first season under new head coach, Tom Marechek and on Tuesday picked up their eighth win of the regular season after defeating the Woodward Academy War Eagles 13-5, improving to 8-5 on the on the season and giving them two more wins than the 2024-2025 regular season and eventually ending the year with a 7-9 record following a second round exit from the Georgia High School Association Division I state championship tournament.
"You know it's funny, I tell the kids all the time that we have to start strong and we haven't started strong all season," Marechek said following Tuesday's win, noting matchups against Lovett and Marist as examples of games in which the Knights found themselves trailing early, which was not the case as they led Woodward 3-0 at the end of the first quarter.
"We have to find a way to win the face off early and run the ball and control the ball score goals first.
Finally we did that," Marechek said of the Knights performance as they added six more goals in the second quarter to take a 9-1 lead into halftime. And while offensively, the things slowed down in the second quarter for Pace Academy as they score just two goals, they would find the back of the next four times in the final period of play in route to the win.
"I always tell these guys we really haven't played three solid quarters, and I'm just asking for three out of four," Marechek said as he expressed what he wants his team to focus on down the final stretch of the regular season in hopes of making a successful postseason run. "We just have to play three solid quarters and have no let downs," Marechek continued, explaining defensively the Knights cannot allow good offensive outings to be spoiled by allowing opposing offenses to gain momentum.
"I tell the guys we have to tighten up. I think our offense played the best game all year. I think we controlled the offense very well. We had cutters finally, we had a lot of assist goals and that's the good point and that's a positive edge for us going forward. We just have to tighten up little things," Marechek said. Pace Academy returns to action on Thursday when they travel to take on Mount Vernon in their second to last region matchup of the regular season.
Pace Academy defeated Woodward Academy 13-5
Pace Academy defeated Woodward Academy 13-5
