1A Women’s Soccer Championship
Christ the King downs Woods Charter 3-0
CARY, NC – Christ the King dominated play, cruising to a 3-0 victory over Woods Charter in the 1A Women’s Soccer State Championship. The Crusaders completely dominated play, holding Woods Charter without a shot for the game and fired 19 shots of their own on their way to the program’s first State Championship.
Riley Milligan opened the scoring for Christ the King, netting the first goal of the game in the 32nd minute on a penalty kick. It turned out to be the game-winning goal and Milligan was selected as the game’s Most Valuable Player.
The Crusaders added an insurance goal in the 54th minute as Daniela Evans found the back of the net. Elle Gorman sent a beautiful cross into the box from the right side and Evans won the aerial battle with Woods Charter Keeper, Jana Matthews, heading the ball in the middle of the goal for a 2-0 lead.
Christ the King tacked on another goal in the 67th minute as Matthews made an initial save, one of her 10 saves in the game, but could not hold the rebound. With Matthews down and out after a diving save to her right, Abby Olean cleaned up the loose change, depositing it into the other side of the net for a 3-0 lead.
Woods Charter finished the season 19-1-2, winning the Central Tar Heel 1A with a perfect 8-0-0 record. The Wolves won the program’s first Regional Championship and appeared in their first State Championship Game.
Christ the King wrapped up the year 18-2-0. The Crusaders captured the Catawba Shores Athletic 1A/2A league championship with an 8-2-0 record. The Crusaders were the Regional Champions for the first time in program history.
The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing and promoting outstanding sportsmanship and has partnered with NC Farm Bureau to recognize two athletes in each NCHSAA State Championship event with the 2022 NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award. This year’s winners for 1A Women’s Soccer were Chloe Richard from Woods Charter and Daniela Evans from Christ the King.
2A Women’s Soccer Championship
Wheatmore wins their first with a 4-1 victory over Clinton
CARY, NC – Wheatmore won the school’s first Women’s Soccer State Championship rolling to a 4-1 victory over Clinton in the 2A Women’s Soccer State Championship Game. The Warriors capped off their record-breaking season with an additional four goals to bring their season total to 195, which is 10 goals higher than the previous state record set by the 1988 East Forsyth squad.
The Warriors survived some early pressure from Clinton as Dark Horse forward Ally Sutter rang one off the post in the early going, but Wheatmore had far more of the early scoring chances. They were finally able to break the ice in the 24thminute as Ellie Garrison drilled home a shot from just outside the box to make it 1-0 Warriors. Just six minutes later her teammate, Summer Bowman, made it 2-0 blasting a shot through the keeper.
The Dark Horses regrouped at halftime and trimmed the lead just two minutes into the second half as Kenzy Yang ticked home a rebound opportunity after the ball came off of the keeper thanks to a near own goal by the Warriors. Yang’s opportunistic goal made it 2-1, but it was as close as Clinton could get.
Clinton’s Sophia Jackson was sent off with a second yellow card in the 70th minute, leaving her Dark Horse team down a player for the remainder of the match. Wheatmore made them pay as Bowman nabbed a second goal, this one in the 75thminute, to give the Warriors some breathing room. Bowman was selected as the game’s Most Valuable Player. Kara Comer netted a goal in the 79th minute to put the final touches on a 4-1 victory.
Clinton finished the season 25-3-0. The Dark Horses were the conference champions in the Southeastern 2A where they finished with a 10-0-0 mark. The team reach the State Championship Game for the first time in program history after winning their first Regional Championship.
Wheatmore wrapped up their year at 25-0-0. The Warriors won the Piedmont Athletic 1A/2A with a 12-0-0 record. The Warriors won their first Regional Championship and first State Championship in Women’s Soccer, finishing the year with a state record for number of goals scored in a season.
The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing and promoting outstanding sportsmanship and has partnered with NC Farm Bureau to recognize two athletes in each NCHSAA State Championship event with the 2022 NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award. This year’s winners for 2A Women’s Soccer were Ta’Shawnna Green from Clinton and Kylie Biggs from Wheatmore.
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) will hold three more State Championship games on Saturday at Koka Booth Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Play will begin at 11:00 a.m. with the 3A Championship Game followed by the 1A Championship Game at 2:30 p.m. and the 4A Championship at 6:00.
3A Women’s Soccer Championship
Lake Norman Charter gets their second straight title with 2-0 win over Eastern Alamance
CARY, NC – The Lake Norman Charter Knights rolled to a 2-0 victory in the 3A State Championship Match, shutting out Eastern Alamance on their way to the program’s second straight State Championship. Eliza Rich scored the game-winning goal for the Knights in the sixth minute of the game to go up 1-0 and was selected as the game’s Most Valuable Player.
Rich’s opening goal came off of a feed from Gabbi Soos, finding Rich in the right side of the 18-yard box before she found the far-side netting for her tally. The Knights poured pressure on Eagles Goalkeeper, Karsyn Johnson, all afternoon, taking 18 shots with seven of them being on frame. Johnson did make five saves in the game, but her offense only managed six shots, with just three on target, all stopped by Imani Anzaya.
Lake Norman Charter’s second goal came in the 45th minute as Haven Stanley netted a goal on a defensive miscue by Eastern Alamance. A thru-ball into the box got loose from Johnson and Stanley made no mistake with the finish to go up 2-0.
Eastern Alamance wrapped up their season at 18-4-1. The Eagles were the champions of the Central 3A at 11-1-0 for the year. The Eagles made their second State Championship appearance in program history after winning their first Regional Championship since earning the 1998 1A/2A Eastern Regional Championship.
Lake Norman Charter finished the season 26-1-0. The Knights were 14-0-0 in the South Piedmont 3A, winning the league title. The Knights won the program’s third state title, and second consecutive championship, winning a Regional Championship for the fourth straight season.
The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing and promoting outstanding sportsmanship and has partnered with NC Farm Bureau to recognize two athletes in each NCHSAA State Championship event with the 2022 NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award. This year’s winners for 3A Women’s Soccer were Marissa Sorvillo from Lake Norman Charter and Macy James from Eastern Alamance.
4A Women’s Soccer Championship
Cardinal Gibbons staves off Ardrey Kell in PKs
CARY, NC – Ardrey Kell outshot Cardinal Gibbons 31-7 in the match including 17-4 in shots on goal, but Cardinal Gibbons’ goalkeeper Rhian Lawrence came up with 15 saves and two big PK stops to lift the Crusaders to the program’s third State Championship and first in the 4A ranks.
Despite the overwhelming difference in shots taken, Cardinal Gibbons got on the board first, netting a goal in the 62ndminute when Lily Pryzwansky won the ball in the middle of the pitch and took a few dribbles into the open space just right of the center portion of the field and loosed a shot from 35 yards out that cleared the keeper and dropped below the bar into the net for a 1-0 lead.
Ardrey Kell continued their push late in regulation, desperately trying to tie the score and finally breaking through with just 1:45 to play. Carly Montgomery broke down the Gibbons defense along the left endline, she cut a cross back away from the goal and Taylor Suarez buried it in the lower right portion of the goal with the inside of her right foot to tie the game in the 78th minute.
Neither team was able to break the tie in the two overtime periods, and that sent the match into penalty kicks. The Crusaders stepped to the spot first and Pryzwansky knocked home the first chance before Ardrey Kell’s Suarez matched her make. In the second PK round, Sydney Hennesen made her kick for Gibbons and that brought Ellie Herrmann to the mark for the Knight’s second chance. Herrman hit a great shot towards the right post, but Lawrence guessed correctly and batted it down to give the Crusaders the edge through two kicks.
The next three kicks were all made, which put the pressure on Ardrey Kell’s Ellie Newman who needed a make to extend the PK session to the fifth round. Newman stepped up and hit a shot directed a little left of center and Lawrence was able to get a hand on it and tip it over the bar to end the match with the Crusaders winning 1-1 (4-2 PK).
Ardrey Kell finished the season 25-2-1. The Knights were 9-1-0 in the So Meck 4A where they won the league championship. The Knights won the program’s fourth Regional Championship, appearing in the State Championship Match for the first time since 2011.
Cardinal Gibbons wrapped the year 16-6-2. The Crusaders finished second in the Cap 6 4A at 6-3-1. The Crusaders won the Regional Championship for the sixth time in program history and collected the school’s third Women’s Soccer State Championship.
The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing and promoting outstanding sportsmanship and has partnered with NC Farm Bureau to recognize two athletes in each NCHSAA State Championship event with the 2022 NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award. This year’s winners for 4A Women’s Soccer were Ellie Hermann from Ardrey Kell and Hailey Juhasz from Cardinal Gibbons.
