Decatur High’s girls soccer team celebrated its 10-0 win over Hartselle in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs Tuesday by running.

That’s right, running.

After a the girls took a brief trip across the field towards their cheering section, Decatur coaches laid colorful cones on the field at Ogle Stadium and their players began a series of sprints and jogs.

It wasn’t punishment. It was proof that the Lady Red Raiders’ job is not done.

Decatur’s girls improved to 18-6-5, while Hartselle’s season ended at 8-11-3.

“They told us we need to pick up the intensity from how we’ve been playing — it’s only going to get harder from here,” said junior Georgia Gamble, who recorded a hat trick in the first-round victory.

“This win just means we are back on the
same track we were last year. We’ve been there before.”

Gamble and the No. 2-ranked Lady Red Raiders made it to the semifinals last season. With Tuesday’s win, Decatur advanced to the second round, and will host Fort Payne (16-10-2), a 7-0 first-round winner over Brewer, on Saturday at noon at Ogle Stadium.

On the heels of the Decatur boys’ 1-0 loss to Cullman on the same field, Decatur girls coach Mike Pline said he didn’t have to give his team much extra motivation Tuesday.

“They saw what happened in the boys game, and they know it’s one game and out,” Pline said.

“We only have a few days to get ready, so we have to work today. We were focused the whole game. Even at halftime, we were focused on correcting the little things.”

Shannon Laughlin was in goal for the Lady Red Raiders in the shutout, and six Lady Red Raiders scored.

Senior Meg Adams passed the ball to Gamble, who punched in the first score for Decatur in the eighth minute.

Gamble scored again in the 19 th minute for a 2-0 Decatur lead.

Senior Lindsey Hawkins scored next, heading in the third goal less than two minutes later for a comfortable 3-0 Lady Red Raiders advantage.

Decatur’s Kim Collis denied what looked like a sure Hartselle shot, diving into the net to preserve the shutout before halftime.

Gamble’s third goal, followed by an attempt by Meg Adams that turned into a goal by younger sister Sally Adams, made Decatur’s lead 5-0 at the break.

Megan Schmidt tacked on a goal early in the second half before a perfectly positioned header by Sally Adams made it 7-0 Decatur.

Taylor Rutherford also scored in the second half, and Madison Dunlap was good on a pair of goals — the second of which capped the win, ending the game short of regulation.

After Tuesday’s showing the Lady Red Raiders appear to be on the right track to match or better last year’s finish.

“This is one of the best team’s I’ve played on,” senior Mary Grace Propst said.

“We wanted to play a lot of hard games this year and play to the best of our ability.”

So far, so good for the Lady Red Raiders. Pline said his group has done just that and hopes the magic doesn’t end any time soon.

“I’ve been extremely pleased all year,” Pline said.

“They’re excited, very excited, about the playoffs and a chance to try and do even better than they did last year.”