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Since the N.C. High School Athletic Association began holding girls' soccer state championships during 1986, Mecklenburg County 4A teams haven't had much luck.
In 23 years, local teams have just one 4A title. Providence was the first 4A Mecklenburg County team to reach a final and the Panthers beat Raleigh Broughton 2-1 in 1997.
Providence made it back to the championship round in 2001 and 2006, losing both.
Last season, Ardrey Kell became the first local team other than Providence to reach the girls' 4A final. Ardrey Kell opened in the fall of 2006, just a few months after Providence lost 1-0 to Broughton in the '06 championship.
Ardrey Kell's population included many former Providence students, and Panthers soccer coach Jeff Mercado also moved to the new school.
So in four years, Mercado has taken his team to three finals, an amazing statistic. His teams, however, were outscored 4-0 during the first two trips.
But this year, playing Leesville Road for the second straight year in the final, I think the Knights will score and I think they will get the job done.
Ardrey Kell, which was 2008 state runner-up in baseball, boys' tennis and girls' soccer, will win its first state championship today.
Winning won't be easy. The teams will play at 7p.m. and, in one of the most unfortunate parts of state championship soccer, Leesville Road will be waiting at home while the Knights travel 31/2 hours on the bus. That's an advantage. Another is Leesville Road will have the home crowd at N.C. State.
The soccer finals are always in the Raleigh area. Until the 2008 boys' final, a Raleigh area team had been represented in the 4A finals for two decades. On the girls' side, this will be the 24th year in a row. It's a wonderful tribute to how strong Triangle high school soccer is.
It's also why the NCHSAA should endeavor to move the finals around, in the name of fairness.
I don't think that will matter to the Knights' players, who have worked hard to get back to this point. Ardrey Kell has the best defense I've seen from a Charlotte girls' team, allowing only three goals all season, and none in regular play (all on penalty or free kicks).
Leesville Road (23-0-3) is ranked No.1 in the state and has won eight straight games since tying Raleigh Sanderson 1-1 on April30. No team has scored on Leesville Road since.
I did say it won't be easy.
But it's just a hunch. I think Mecklenburg County is due, and I think this is the right team and the right coach at the right time.
Langston Wertz Jr.: 704-358-5133; lwertz@charlotteobserver.com
