Pine Lake Prep girls soccer earns shot at back-to-back state titles

MOORESVILLE - Pine Lake Prep's girls soccer team is returning to the N.C. High School Athletic Association state finals for the third time in as many years.

The Pride (19-3), seeded first in the West, defeated No. 2 seed Hendersonville 3-2 in the 3A Western Regional championship Tuesday night to claim their third straight regional title.

Hendersonville took a 1-0 lead, but the Pride responded with three straight goals, two by freshman Peyton Peterson and one by sophomore Dahlia Rood.

Freshmen Mara Sweeney and Harper Kiley, and sophomore Tabitha Schmedes each recorded one assist.

The Pride led 3-1 at halftime. Hendersonville (21-3-1) scored the only goal of the second half, but it wasn't enough.

Pine Lake Prep will play Wake Prep Academy (22-2-1) in the 3A state championship game Saturday at Durham County Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is at 11 a.m. Wake Prep defeated Durham's N.C. School of Science and Math (19-5) 2-1 to win the 3A Eastern Regional title.

Pine Lake Prep captured the program's first state title in 2025 when it won the 2A championship a year after finishing as the 2A state runner-up.

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