For the Southeast Bulloch girls, the postseason was a short one.
    The Lady Yellow Jackets earned a No. 2 seed in the Class-AA playoffs, but bowed out in the first round, losing 3-2 to Morgan County Friday evening at Womack Field on the campus of Statesboro High School.
    SEB (9-5-1) took a 1-0 lead early in the contest, but Morgan County (9-3-1) scored three times before the end of the first half, then hung on for the victory.
    “Unfortunately, we just didn’t quite have enough today,” SEB coach Kristen Barnhill said. “We got that early goal, which was nice, but that seemed to wake up (Morgan County). They really played well and we’ve just got to hand it to them.”
    The loss ends the Jackets’ season while Morgan County will advance to play either Jordan or Westminster in the second round.
    The Lady Bulldogs were paced by Maddie Zak, who scored a pair of goals to erase the early deficit and pull Morgan County ahead for good.
    Trailing midway through the first half, Zak charged into the Jackets’ box. After passing the ball to the sideline, Zak positioned herself 10 yards from the net. Receiving another pass, she settled the ball and worked around two defenders before beating SEB goalkeeper Alexis Hammonds to tie the game at 1-1.
    With 9:38 to go in the first half, Zak struck again. With the Jacket defense retreating, Zak dribbled to her right before firing a shot from 20 yards out. The ball bounced off of the left goal post and settled in the back of the net for a Morgan County lead.
    Just two minutes later, the Bulldogs struck again.
    A failed clearing attempt by SEB gave Holly Peppers a free run at the net. Hammonds stopped a rifle shot from eight yards out, but the rebound bounced right to Peppers, whose second shot went through for a 3-1 advantage.
    “Morgan County had a lot of girls that were dangerous,” Barnhill said. “They really ran us hard. After practicing through this heat the last few days and then running with them today, I think we got a little tired.”
    Knowing that their season was on the brink of ending, the Jackets tried their best to hang tough.
    The second half began much like the first half had ended. Morgan County controlled the pace and found shots, but Hammonds was able to keep any further damage from being done. Hammonds stopped all nine shots she faced in the second half, many of them coming with a crowd surrounding her net.
    “She did a great job for us all year,” Barnhill said. “I told her at halftime just to keep playing her game. There were a lot of tough shots she saved that really kept us in the game.”
    The Bulldogs kept SEB offense at bay for much of the day, but with the final minutes ticking away, Barnhill rearranged her formation to get as many players forward as possible.
    With just 9:26 to play, the Jackets were awarded a free kick from 25 yards out. Senior Merekate Schlierf lined up her shot and lofted the ball perfectly into the top left corner of the goal, just out of the reach of Bulldogs’ keeper Judy Barrera.
    Southeast Bulloch stayed in the attacking zone for much of the final 10 minutes and earned two corner kicks, but never found another open look on goal.
    “You never want the season to end,” Barnhill said. “We just weren’t able to get it done today. I’m still really proud of our girls. I appreciate all the work that our seniors have put in, and the rest of us will come right back next year.”

    Mike Anthony may be reached at (912) 489-9404.