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MOORESVILLE Mooresville High senior captain Carson Smith was a freshman reserve the last time he saw Lake Norman lose a soccer game. In that N.C. 3A quarterfinal in 2005, Mooresville got a late header to beat archrival Lake Norman and advance to the state championship game.
After that, Lake Norman started a win streak that lasted for more than two seasons and two state titles – and it included wins against Mooresville.
“I never thought it would take us that long to beat them again,” Smith said after his second-half goal secured a 2-0 win and ended Lake Norman's N.C.-best 60-game win streak Monday. “We graduated a lot of players off that (2005) team, but I figured we would be strong the next year. Lake Norman just took off.”
Lake Norman (4-1) came into Monday's game No. 1 in the state and five wins away from tying Asheville Ben Lippen's 38-year-old state record of 65 straight wins.
Monday, though, Lake Norman got outplayed.
Mooresville goalie Max Henry made 12 saves, and the Blue Devils continually got shots close to the Wildcats goal.
Daniel Calderon, in his first start of the season, scored with less than nine minutes left in the first half, after the Blue Devils had several point-blank opportunities. About 16 minutes into the second half, Smith broke away and smoothly tapped home an insurance goal.
“It hurts to lose,” said Lake Norman senior Joe Hughes, the team's only returning starter from 2007's N.C. 3A championship team. “But we've still got a lot to play for. Our season isn't over.”
Mooresville coach Steve Stith was proud of his team, which will likely need to beat Lake Norman again for the North Piedmont 3A title.
“We played with a lot of guts,” he said. “We knew if we could get that first goal, it would get them frustrated, and we were winning the balls in the air, 80 to 90 percent of the time.
“For the first time in a while, it looked like we were the more physical team. That was awfully nice to see.”
