Hough moved on to the girls' soccer N.C. 4A semifinals with a 2-1 overtime win against I-Meck rival Lake Norman on Friday night.

Hough midfielder Allison Stearns said getting this far into this playoff validates the first-year program.

"We knew we had the talent from the start," she said. "It's now showing."

After 33 minutes of play, Lake Norman (20-2-1) opened the scoring with junior Courtney Reilly's goal. She was assisted by Kendall Fischlein, who beat Huskies goalkeeper Emily Rusk for the ball before finding an open Reilly inside the box.

Hough (22-3-1) responded halfway through the second half, when an open Lindsey Byrne lobbed it above goalkeeper Rachel Harrill into the top-right corner of the Wildcat post.

"We fought and we fought," said Stearns. "It was all about effort."

The Huskies had an energy boost after the goal, but were not able to capitalize from the momentum. The two squads seemed tired as regulation expired.

After a scoreless first overtime, Stearns gave the Huskies a lead with eight minutes left. She found the ball at her feet in front of the Lake Norman net on a rebound off a Brandi Arey shot.

"It was 2 feet away, so all I had to do was tap it in," said Stearns.

Hough coach David Smith said Stearns, a junior who leads the Huskies with 24 goals, did what's expected of her.

"It's what she does," said Smith, who also led the Huskies' boys' soccer team to the state semifinals in the fall. "I told her earlier today I had a feeling that she was going to come up big and she did."

Hough and Lake Norman had met twice before Friday's game. The Wildcats took the first game in March 1-0 at Hough before tying with the Huskies earlier in the month 2-2 at home.

Smith said his girls were looking forward to meeting the talented Lake Norman team one more time.

"I have all the respect in the world for coach (Jon) Mertes and those girls," said Smith. "It's a shame that somebody had to lose tonight."

Smith said he plans to attend today's game between Ardrey Kell and East Forsyth to scout his Huskies next opponent.

Mertes said he was proud of his Wildcats.

"They laid it all out on the field," he said. "But it was their night tonight."