Betsy Brooks (22) will be one of the seniors Tift head coach Zac Martin said he will rely on when they face a dangerous Roswell team in the second round of the state playoffs Tuesday.

TIFTON — The second round of the state soccer playoffs kick off Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Tift County. The 15-3-1 Lady Devils are to play Roswell High in a contest that will see one team’s season end.

The winner moves on to the elite eight round, against either Brookwood (No. 2 seed) or Milton (No. 1). If Tift and Milton both win, the contest will be played at Milton, per the Georgia High School Association’s “universal coin flip,” which determines home field for equally seeded teams. If Tift and Brookwood win, the Lady Devils will host.

The second round has been a bit of a curse for Tift County in previous seasons. The Lady Devils have a long streak of state tournament appearances, but have had little luck in advancing to the elite eight. They have made the second round in six of the past seven seasons, but the elite just once, in 2013. Tift won over Westlake, 4-2, in the first round.

“That north Georgia area seems to have our number,” said Tift head coach Zac Martin. “Hopefully, home field will give us an advantage.”

To make it to the elite eight, Tift will have to go through Roswell. The Lady Hornets were the No. 3 team in Region 4, but blasted Marietta in the first round, 5-0. Martin said the score was a bit of a surprise.

Leading the way for Roswell in the contest was Mallie McKenzie, who netted a hat trick and assisted on the other two goals.

Roswell is 12-5-2 for the season. Four of the losses were by one goal. The other was to Walton, one of two teams in common for Tift and Roswell. The Lady Hornets fell to Walton, 4-1. Tift lost earlier this year to Walton by a 4-1 score.

The other common team on the schedules was Etowah, a school both sides defeated. Tift won, 2-1; Roswell, 3-0.

Martin said his squad would have to rely on its seniors in order to win. Fortunately, all of his older players are in good shape, as Emma Choate finally shook the cold that affected her against Westlake. In contrast, it is the younger players who are questionable. Three were out at the end of the week with stomach flu.

Tift won’t quite go to the point of quarantining its roster in advance of Tuesday, but they are taking precautions.

“We’ve had some conversations about GermX,” said Martin.