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Ardrey Kell girls not likely to relax in 4A high school soccer state championship

Kelly Hood

Ardrey Kell’s girls’ soccer team never relaxed Tuesday night in the 4A West Regional championship game at Weddington.

The Knights pushed the ball into Weddington’s end of the field early and often. They led 4-0 but never relaxed, scoring their final goal in a 7-0 victory with less than 15 seconds remaining.

And don’t look for the Knights to relax or go into a defensive shell Friday night, should they get a lead on Ashley High in the 4A state championship match at UNC Greensboro.

Ardrey Kell knows, painfully well, that tie scores can end badly in soccer. The Knights (24-3-1) and Ashley (25-1) meet at 7 p.m. on Friday for the 4A title.

Ardrey Kell is among three Charlotte-area teams playing for girls’ soccer state championships this weekend. South Point plays for the 3A title Saturday morning, and Christ the King goes for a 1A repeat championship in the evening.

This is Ardrey Kell’s second straight appearance in the 4A championship match.

A year ago, the Knights fell behind 1-0 against Cardinal Gibbons but tied the match on a Taylor Suarez goal with 1:45 left in regulation. The teams played scoreless soccer in overtime, which meant the state title would be decided on penalty kicks.

“That’s not the way you want to decide a match like that,” Ardrey Kell coach Kim Montgomery said.

Her team had outshot Cardinal Gibbons 31-7 and had 17 shots on goal to the Crusaders’ 4.

But the Knights’ entire season came down to a shootout, where a bad bounce — or a lucky bounce — could make the difference. Cardinal Gibbons won 4-2 in the shootout.

“That’s not the way you want to have a game decided,” Ardrey Kell’s junior standout, Taylor Suarez said. “It left us with a lot of emotions.”

The Knights had the same kind of comeback on April 1 this season, playing in Wilmington against Ashley. They fell behind 1-0, tied the match in the second half, but lost 2-1 on a goal late in regulation.

So Montgomery and her players vow no letup in Friday’s championship match.

“Remembering that loss last year to Cardinal Gibbons in penalty kicks has motivated us,” said Suarez, who leads the team with 34 goals and 31 assists this season.

Senior defender Ally Casey added, “We have the opportunity to come back and do it again. We want to finish it out this time.”

Montgomery said her team “learned and moved forward” from last year’s championship loss.

Statistically, the 4A title match looks even. Ardrey Kell has outscored opponents 133-13; Ashley by a 143-12 count. And there was the teams’ nearly-even match in early April.

Suarez said she and her teammates don’t think it’s an accident that they’ve arrived in the finals.

“We’re in this position again for a reason,” she said. “We’ve worked to get here. And that will help fire us up.”

South Point seeks first title

Ardrey Kell is one of three teams in this weekend’s state championships that lost in the finals a year ago. The others are Woods Charter in 1A and Eastern Alamance, which faces South Point for the 3A crown Saturday.

South Point (22-0-3) faces Eastern Alamance (19-0-1) at 11 a.m. at UNC Greensboro.

Eastern Alamance lost 2-0 in the finals last year to Lake Norman Charter and is making its third appearance in a championship match.

South Point is in the finals for the first time. The Raiders are averaging nearly 7 goals a match and are led by senior Grace Smith, who has 52 goals and 21 assists this season. She’s scored eight goals in the past two matches and has three or more goals 11 times this spring.

The Raiders have outscored opponents 168-13, and goalkeeper Payton Decker (0.60 goals-against average) anchors a solid defense.

Eastern Alamance doesn’t have quite the firepower, outscoring foes 133-8. But the Eagles have a big-time scorer in William & Mary commit Molly Widderich. She has 52 goals and 14 assists this season, and Abby Brinker has added 32 goals.

Goalkeeper Karsyn Johnson has a 0.46 goals-against average.

Christ the King seeks double-double

Christ the King has dominated 1A soccer the past few seasons in North Carolina, and the Crusaders are going for their second straight 1A girls’ championship. The school’s boys’ team also has won two straight titles in soccer.

N.C. High School Athletic Association records don’t show any other school winning two in a row, during the same seasons, in both boys and girls soccer.

In fact, you’d have to look to tennis to find such a double-double. East Chapel Hill, Broughton and Raleigh Charter have accomplished the feat since the late 1990s.

Christ the King (16-2-3) faces Woods Charter (20-1-3) at 6 p.m. on Saturday for the 1A championship. The match will be at UNC Greensboro.

It’s a rematch of last season’s finale, which Christ the King won 3-0. The Crusaders outshot the Wolves 19-0 in that match, spoiling Woods Charter’s unbeaten season.

This year’s match is a contrast in styles. Woods Charter has an explosive offense, averaging nearly 7 goals a match. Since April 26, the Wolves have gone 8-0-1 and outscored opponents 76-5. Amelia Cherry (45 goals) and Sienna Gray (38 goals) lead the offense.

Christ the King, meanwhile, has scored only 95 goals this season but competed in the tough Catawba Shores Conference, with several 2A powerhouses. And the Crusaders won the state title last year despite scoring only 89 goals.

Junior goalkeeper Elizabeth Navola leads the stingy defense, with a 0.284 goals-against average.

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle