Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Goals, like raindrops, poured Monday at G.M. Tennant Stadium.

It felt at times like the state swimming postseason kicked off rather than the state girls soccer playoffs. But rain that ranged from spotty showers to a downpour did nothing to slow Polk County – the Wolverines scored early, often and then some, rolling to a 10-0 victory over Thomasville in a first-round 1A playoff matchup.

Polk County (13-4-1) advances to a second-round meeting Thursday against a familiar foe – Christ The King. The three-time defending state champions, who defeated Polk 5-0 in last year’s 1A West Regional final, will return to Tennant Stadium for a rematch at a time to be announced.

The Crusaders (11-5-1) rolled past South Stokes 9-0 in their playoff opener Monday. CTK will have a number of new faces compared to last year’s team, bringing in a roster that doesn’t include any seniors. Sophomore Addison Peirce leads the Crusader attack with 31 goals prior to Monday’s win.

Polk will hope to repeat some of the offensive fireworks it flashed in its opener. Gabby Savaia scored three goals and six other players scored as the Wolverines simply had too much firepower in the one-half match for a Thomasville team (7-15) returning to the playoffs after not qualifying for several seasons.

Savaia scored in the third minute, then delivered a perfect pass to Hayden Blackwell in the fifth minute. Reeve Carroll scored a minute later, and Savaia found the net again in the seventh minute as the Wolverines raced to a 4-0 lead.

The Bulldogs slowed Polk’s attack for a short period and even pushed into the Wolverines’ end for a couple of long shots, but Polk soon cranked up another scoring flurry. Carroll, Jasmine Baird, Charley Dusenbury and Kylie Lews each struck within a seven-minute span, upping the Wolverine advantage to 8-0.

Savaia completed her hat trick in the 30th minute to make it 9-0. While matching the required lead for halting the match, that rule doesn’t take effect until halftime. That allowed the Wolverines to strike once more, adding a final goal on Jessica Baird’s tally with 3:49 left in the half.